Rabid (4 page)

The ferals swarmed. Grenades flew, but the ferals piled on top of the vehicle. One jumped onto the hood and looked in through the windshield, howling and shrieking. Jack could barely see to drive. Abby switched on the laser, and the ferals fell away.

“Watch out,” Pippa screamed. Jack wrenched the wheel, but the front right side of the vehicle hit an overturned van.

“Just a scratch,” Jack said as he floored the accelerator.

“What happened?” Abby asked, peeking her head up from the back through the metal opening.

“Nothing, we're all right,” Jack replied.

“No, we're not. The fire saw has quit working.”

“It must have damaged your right front laser port when I hit that van,” Jack said. “Don't worry, we're almost to the highway.”

The highway entrance ramp was dead ahead, and the ferals were falling behind. Soon, all they heard was the sound of the screaming car engine. Jack hit the ramp at top speed and took them onto Highway 10, headed west.

When morning came, they saw that the terrain had changed, the deep greens of lush vegetation replaced by the feeble browns of dust and sand.

“It looks like death,” Pippa said as she stared out the window. She and Aiden were sitting up front with Jack, and she was frowning at the desolate landscape.

“Not death, just another part of nature,” Jack said. “We're leaving the green part of the country and entering the desert. There won't be any lush greenery for a while. But we'll see green again, I promise.”

“Maybe there won't be any ferals either,” Aiden said. “They can't eat sand.”

“Always the optimist,” Pippa said before kissing his cheek.

He lifted his hand to touch her face but frowned when he saw the green, scaly claw that had grown from his right wrist. He pulled it back before it could brush her cheek.

Pippa looked hurt. “Aiden, please don't pull away from me, not ever.”

“I'm just now realizing what I am,” he said. “I haven't had much time to think about it till now, and I guess I was becoming used to it growing on me. But now that we're together, I do think about it. I look at it, and I don't like it.”

“You have nothing to be ashamed of,” Pippa said. She took his new hand and interlocked her fingers in his.

“Speaking of desert, we're running low on water,” Jack announced. “We'll need to find a source soon, or it will be tough making it through.”

Abby, sitting in the back with Salvatore, stuck her head through the opening to the front. “Be on the lookout for cactus plants.”

“What's a cactus plant?” Aiden asked.

“It's a weird green plant unlike any you've ever seen. It doesn't have leaves. It has little needles that stick out all over it, and it's shaped funny.”

“Okay, I'll bite. Why do we care about a weird plant that's shaped funny and has needles instead of leaves?”

“Because it will have water inside it. We can pop a hole in a cactus and get fresh water to fill our containers. Hold on, I'll show you.”

Abby rummaged through Pippa's satchel and found her book on indigenous plants. She handed it to Aiden. “Turn to page 147 and you'll see a variety of cactus plants. There's also a picture showing the top cut off of one, so you can see the water.”

Pippa was the first to spot a cactus. Jack pulled to the shoulder of the road and stopped, and they exited the vehicle.

“Keep a sharp lookout,” Jack said. “Just because we're in the desert doesn't mean there aren't any ferals around.”

The five travelers scanned the desert in all directions, four of them sniffing the air as a warm western breeze blew in. “All clear,” Pippa announced, and they headed toward a cluster of cacti.

“It looks just like the picture,” Pippa said as they approached.

“We'll need a knife to poke a hole in it,” Abby said, but Aiden had already begun making holes in one of the prickly plants with his talons.

The group filled their four solar-silver water purifying bottles and several large reserve containers before dining on a small breakfast of non-perishable canisters full of preserved fruit and dried meats they'd taken from Houston. They ate quickly, eager to get away from the hot and blinding desert sun.

“Let's go before we roast,” Jack said.

“Maybe we should try to find some shelter for the day and drive at night,” Aiden suggested. “Assuming we can find some shade.”

They set off again, but it was even hotter inside the car than outside. The air that streamed in through the open windows felt like a blast furnace. Aiden and Salvatore let Pippa and Abby ride shotgun and they took the back. They opened the rear doors and sat on the floor with their feet dangling out the back, but the hot breeze was little better than no breeze at all.

By the time Aiden spotted a patch of shade, receding in the distance behind them, all five were feeling woozy.

“Great catch,” Jack said when Aiden told him. “I can't believe I missed it.”

They left the road and headed toward the rock formation Aiden had spotted. It featured a large overhang that cast an inviting shadow. Jack caught site of something familiar. It was a swing set, and it made him remember the children's play yard in Athens. He wondered how the inhabitants there were faring.

The overhang projected from the rock formation, giving it the appearance of a cave. Though the overhang was shallow, it was high and wide and created enough shade to cover the vehicle and then some. Jack parked and everyone exited. A quick scan of the area revealed no sign of trouble. They took turns standing watch and rested as best they could.

They hit the road again at dusk. Salvatore, who could see better at night than the doctor, drove, and Pippa, Abby, and Aiden rode in the back. They drove without lights, and Aiden turned off his sun ring. The less attention they attracted, the better off they'd be.

Within a few hours, Highway 10 took a curve to the right, leading them north.

They passed a sign for Fort Hancock, twenty miles away.

“I wonder if it's a safehaven,” Jack said. “Not that we'll be stopping to find—”

The vehicle seemed to become airborne for an instant, and then it dropped nose first and crashed. Everyone was thrown forward, but Salvatore got the worst of it. His skull cracked the windshield, and then he slumped back in his seat, unconscious.

Pippa, Abby, and Aiden leaped out of the back and ripped off the front doors, which had become wedged in place.

“Get him out on the ground, quickly,” Jack said. “And get my bag.”

A whiff of smelling salts brought Salvatore around. Abby hovered over him as the doctor made his ministrations. Aiden and Pippa stood guard.

“I'm okay,” Salvatore muttered and made as if to stand up.

“Hang on,” Jack said. “You might have a concussion.”

Salvatore ignored him and got halfway to his feet. He faltered then and sank back down as dizziness set in. Blood flowed from a cut on his forehead and streamed down his face.

“Sit still, Salvatore, I have to sew up that gash on your forehead,” Jack said.

“No need,” Salvatore replied. He pressed the fingers of both hands against his temples and pushed as if to close the gash. His eyes began to change, and his features slowly morphed. The gash began to close. Five minutes went by as Salvatore's face hovered halfway between man and beast. He closed his eyes and his human form returned. The wound was scabbed over, already healing.

“What happened?” Aiden asked.

“Basically, it looks like we fell into a huge hole in the road,” Pippa replied, gesturing toward the long, wide pit into which the vehicle had fallen.

“You mean someone or something set a trap, and it looks like we're the first victim,” Aiden said.

“Don't jump to conclusions,” Jack said. “This could be twenty years old. It could even be a sinkhole.”

“It's not old,” Aiden replied. “It's freshly dug.”

“We have to get the car out of it,” Abby said. “Let's morph and see if we can lift it out.”

Jack reached in and turned the ignition. Nothing happened. “Save your strength. It looks like the crash did it in.”

“Let's grab what we can carry and get moving,” Pippa said.

“Jack, grab the solar panels off the top of the cab so I can reattach them to the fire saw,” Abby said. “That way you'll have two weapons, just in case you need more firepower.”

The group gathered their supplies and climbed out of the sandy hole. The terrain around them looked barren, almost scorched. Jack said it was a result of the Fallout. With no cover in sight, the five remained out on the open highway, walking toward Fort Hancock. A mile from the pit they heard a loud explosion and felt the ground shake.

“Booby trap,” Abby said. “Someone rigged that hole to explode.”

“Come on,” Jack said, and he began jogging. “We need to make it to that town before sunrise, to find some sort of shelter.”

“There's a sign up ahead,” Abby said. “We still have ten miles to go.”

Jack couldn't see the sign, but he had no doubt that a werecat could. “That's a long way off without protection,” he said. “Any of you picking up any scents or sounds?”

“Except for the smell of the explosives, not a thing,” Aiden replied, “But I do hear this weird whizzing sound.”

“Me too,” Pippa whispered.

Off in the distance, a collection of tiny lights appeared in the darkness. They were heading toward them at an alarming rate.

The swarm of lights, which looked like large bug eyes shining in the night, reached them minutes later. Each light was attached to the front of an open four-wheeled vehicle upon which a single rider sat, straddling the seat and holding on to handlebars. Most of the riders glanced at the five travelers noncommittally and kept going, heading toward the explosion. Five of the riders stopped.

The five vehicles that had peeled away from the main group began to circle around them. Aiden began to morph, but Pippa grabbed his hand and motioned for him to stand down. One of the four-wheelers stopped right beside them, and the others stopped circling. The man who had stopped next to them was massive, well over six feet tall and wide as a door, rippling with muscles. His tattooed arms were as big as most men's legs.

The big man killed his engine and took off his helmet, revealing spiky blond hair. He hopped off his four-wheeler and approached Jack. He was carrying a large axe.

“Are you and these kids all nuts?” he asked Jack. “What in the world are you doing out here in the middle of feral country?”

“It's a long story,” Jack said evenly. He was surprised by the question and hopeful that the men weren't threats. But he was prepared to fight, and he knew his companions were just as ready.

“Relax, we're on your side,” the man said. “My name's Rathbone. Major Rathbone. Most of my group is werecats, just like your three friends here.” He shot a quizzical glance at Aiden's hand but didn't comment on it.

“I'm Pippa Reyes,” Pippa said. “How do you know we're werecats, when you're not one yourself?”

“I can see it in your eyes.”

The conversation was cut short by the return of Rathbone's group.

“It wasn't ferals,” a young, wiry man reported. “There's a large black vehicle in one of the pits. The trigger must have malfunctioned.”

“Was that your vehicle?” Rathbone asked.

Pippa nodded.

“Well then, it's your lucky day. If that trigger hadn't malfunctioned, you'd all be shish kebob for the ferals to eat.”

“You dug those pits?” Aiden asked.

“Yeah, but the trap wasn't meant for you. We don't get travelers out this way, because this place has been overrun for months with ferals coming up from the south. We're military, sent down from a safehaven hidden in a mountain range far north of here. We clean out all the sinkholes, plant explosives in them, and cover them with sand-colored tarps.”

“Ferals are smarter than you think,” Salvatore responded. “They're not just going to walk into the trap.”

Rathbone shrugged. “You did.”

“Ferals won't be driving vehicles,” Salvatore shot back.

“We've been doing this for a long time, son, and we know how smart they are. We lead them to the traps, blow up as many as we can, then hit the rest as hard as we can before heading back to our home base, which is west of here several miles.”

“Fort Hancock?” Abby asked.

“It's not much of a fort,” Rathbone said. “Most of the buildings in the town are gutted, but there's an underground cave system right below the town. We found it when we were cleaning out one of the sinkholes. The best thing is, it's connected to an underground river, fresh water to boot. In fact, I think we better head there now. Feral swarms have been slow over the past week, but when they show, it's hell. We're usually outnumbered a hundred to one.”

“I'd like to point out that we are, at present, without wheels,” Jack said.

“You can come back with us,” Rathbone said. “Some of these machines can hold an extra passenger. Just hop on behind a rider and hold on tight.”

One by one, Pippa and her friends climbed onto the back of a four-wheeler, and the convoy soon disappeared into the night.

“This is it,” Rathbone announced as the four-wheelers descended into a giant sinkhole. At the end stood two large iron gates, wide open, each side lined with guards. Rathbone entered last, with Pippa clinging tightly to his waist. He stopped momentarily, nodded to the guards, and proceeded. Pippa looked over her shoulder and watched as guards pulled back a tarp over the top of the sink hole. Each side was attached to a long metal pole on which the tarp slid, held in place by small metal rings sewn into the material. The gates finally closed as the view slipped away like a receding light at the end of a tunnel.

The pathway opened into a large cavern filled with lights and people. Most were men, but Pippa spotted a few women, though with their cropped hair and military-style uniforms, it was hard to tell the difference. One wall of the cavern was lined with rows of the four-wheelers. Rathbone pulled to the front of the line, turned off the motor, and climbed off.

“Bet you guys are hungry,” he said to Pippa as she got off the vehicle. “Let's get your friends and grab something to eat and share some stories.”

They took their meal in a small area of the base that served as a mess hall and stayed there for a few more hours as Rathbone regaled his visitors with tales of feral hunts. Jack put forward his theories about potential cures for the ferals, and Pippa related the story of their adventure, starting with the night they left New York and ending in the pit. She noticed Rathbone's expression turn solemn as she talked.

“Most of my crew are bobcats,” Rathbone said. “I've seen a few hyenas, but, no offense, young man, we just don't trust your kind. I've never actually seen a snow leopard before, let alone two, especially ones that can hide their werecat features so well.”

Rathbone changed the subject to a more serious matter. “Pippa, Abby, this will be hard for you two to swallow, but I have something to tell you. Though I don't know whether it's good or bad, here goes. I know your mother, Piper Reyes. She's still alive, or she was, anyway. We can't be sure anymore.”

Pippa and Abby glanced quickly at each other and then turned their attention back to Rathbone.

“I remember the day I met her,” he said. “The first thing she told me about was her two daughters and her promise to return East to find her girls once she knew they were of age to make the trip back. She made that trip with a dozen scouts about a year ago. We haven't seen her since.”

Pippa and Abby tried to fight back their tears, but it was no use. Aiden put an arm around Pippa's shoulder, and Salvatore did the same for Abby.

“But that doesn't mean she's gone for good,” Rathbone said. “We've had people missing for four or five years who finally returned. She could be holed up somewhere hiding from the ferals, or maybe she had to travel mostly on foot.”

“We have to try to find her,” Pippa whispered as she took Abby's hand.

“First things first,” Rathbone said. “Tomorrow, I'll have a dozen of my men escort you to the next base, which is in a city called Phoenix. I know the captain up there, and I can guarantee you'll be well taken care of. I'll send instructions to get you safely to our home city, Olympia, in the Olympic Mountains. If Jack here is right about what he says, this may end this infestation once and for all.”

“Speaking of first things first, we could use some shuteye,” Jack said.

Rathbone pointed to the far end of the cavern where hundreds of bunks, stacked three high, were lined neatly in rows.

They found some empty bunks and turned in. Pippa slept cuddled up to Aiden on a lower bunk, with Abby and Salvatore above them and Jack in the top bunk. Silence fell and they slept. A few hours before dawn, Aiden shifted position, and his clawed hand slipped off the cot and rested on the floor. In his sleep, he felt vibrations emanating from the earth. He dreamed he was riding on a four-wheeler, the engine purring and the handlebars humming in his hands. He woke up, and the dream dissolved. The vibrations were still there.

“Something's coming,” he whispered, and he jerked up to a sitting position.

Pippa awoke and stared at him.

“Ferals!” he screamed. He bounded out of bed and began sounding the alarm.

Rathbone appeared and glared at him. “What's wrong with you, son? Have you gone crazy?”

“We're going to be attacked!”

“Nonsense. My men don't see, hear, or smell anything. Besides, the ferals don't know where our—.”

Rathbone stopped and sniffed the air. “Ferals!” he yelled.

The cavern came alive as hundreds of men and women began to morph into bobcat-like creatures. Hundreds of ferals poured through the main entrance, coming on like a swarm of locusts. Many of the werecats were cut down and killed before they fully changed.

Aiden caught a feral in midair and snapped its neck with his scaly hand. Abby and Pippa fought together, striking down every mad creature in their path. Salvatore stood close to the doctor, knowing he'd need the most protection. But the doctor was possessed by his own berserker madness, wielding Excalibur in one hand, the fire saw in the other.

The underground facility became a charnel house within minutes. Screams of death and rage filled the air, and chaos reigned.

“Follow me,” Rathbone screamed.

He and a group of his soldiers fought their way to the cave entrance, and Pippa and her crew followed, battling as they went. They reached the four-wheelers, and Rathbone's people started eight of them up as their comrades continued to fight. Rathbone directed Pippa's group to hop onto four-wheelers behind five of his men. He took one of the vehicles and led them through a small opening, barely large enough for the small vehicles to pass through. Behind them, his military kept up the fight. Explosives went off at the far end of the cave, rattling the rock walls. The ceiling caved in, shutting off the main way in and out, but hundreds of ferals were killed by the collapse. The combat continued. The werecats were falling back, toward Rathbone, and Pippa realized they were in a full-scale, all-out retreat.

“This is our back door,” Rathbone said. Sweat was pouring from him, and he was bleeding from several cuts on his face and neck. “This isn't going to end well. You five need to get out of here first. You may be our only hope for the survival of our kind. It's a straight shot, so if something happens to your driver, just keep driving—or running. The path will take about two hours on foot, if it comes to that. It takes you back out on the highway, so stick to the road, and you'll make it to Phoenix.”

“Aren't you coming?” Pippa asked.

“We'll be right behind you. Now go!”

The men driving the four-wheelers darted off into the tunnel at top speed, leaving dust behind them. The walls were lined with the same greenish lights as the cavern, lighting their path with an eerie hue. Abby hugged tight to the woman driving her and suddenly felt sick. She felt her temperature rising as her heart rate spiked. She knew the beast within her was trying to crawl out of her skin. She closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, tried to calm herself, determined to tame the wild creature inside her. The thought that she might be going rabid sent a sick chill down her spine.

An hour later, Abby smelled fresh air and opened her eyes. The line of four-wheelers burst through to the surface, and she saw the night sky sprinkled with stars. As the vehicles kept coming, a group of bobcats stopped and jumped off their four-wheelers. They ran toward the opening and planted small explosive devices on each side. One last four-wheeler came through. It was Rathbone, carrying the wiry guy they had met earlier in the night and a petite girl behind him.

“Blow it, blow it!” Rathbone yelled as he charged out of the mouth of the cave, trailed by dozens of ferals. Rathbone's soldiers cut down the beasts, and seconds later the charges went off and sealed the exit with rock and rubble.

“Phoenix is five hours away,” Rathbone shouted to his group. “Let's head out!”

Rathbone drove to the head of the convoy and led his troops, now fewer than three hundred, into the night. Nearly half their number had been killed in the attack.

The night sky lightened as dawn loomed in the East. Groups of ferals appeared here and there as the soldiers glided across the desert, but Rathbone's feral assassins picked them off one by one with a variety of weapons, including bows with fire-tipped arrows, grenades, and rifles.

A sign for Phoenix appeared. The line of four-wheelers flowed down the exit ramp, heading toward the center of a ruined city. The scent of smoke filled the air. Rathbone's troops slowed down and spread out, scanning the area.

The four-wheeler carrying Aiden pulled up alongside Rathbone. “There are no ferals here,” Aiden said. “All I can smell is death.”

The four-wheelers with Pippa, Abby, Salvatore, and Jack pulled up and stopped. “The Phoenix group has been attacked,” Rathbone said. His expression was grim.

Rathbone led the group slowly toward the Phoenix base. They passed clusters of dead ferals and werecats, saw and smelled smoldering cars and buildings. “They've already headed north,” Rathbone said, looking at Salvatore. “This was a planned attack. So was the cave. They're getting smarter.”