Rage Within (10 page)

Daniel laughed, his teeth shining in the moonlight.

“Or a deranged Mother Nature,” he said. “Something’s controlling the apron strings. What really made all the people go crazy? What created the Baggers?”

“It could be a disease,” she said. “Some sort of mental disorder. Like a new form of schizophrenia. Or it could have been a government experiment. A bioweapon of some sort. Created in a lab, maybe.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t believe humans could do this. I think it’s something else. And we pissed it off. It’s probably done it before, too. Civilizations have been inexplicably destroyed in the past, too.”

“It’s possible,” she said. “But what can we do? How do we kill a deranged Mother Nature? Does such a thing even have a body? Where would we find it?”

“Agreed,” Daniel said. “But there are other, more available, options. Maybe we can’t stop it, but we can stop what it’s doing.”

“You mean the Baggers? They’re still crazy and hell-bent on killing all of us, no matter what lies they feed us. Are you suggesting we kill them all? Do we go to war?”

“What if some of them can come back?”

“You mean turn normal?”

“Yeah.”

She chewed absently on her lower lip for a bit. “I think it’s gone too far for that.”

“Maybe.” He smiled but his eyes looked very sad.

“Did someone close to you become a Bagger?” she asked.

There was a long pause while he twisted the thermos lid around in his hand. His fingers were long and graceful. She wanted to reach out and touch them, but that seemed too personal. What if he pulled back?

“My mom,” he finally said. “She tried to kill me.”

She sucked in air, a whooshing sound escaping her lips. “Oh, Daniel, I’m so sorry. I’ve been very selfish.”

His eyes widened. “How have you been selfish?”

“Because I’ve spent too much time talking about my own problems,” she said. “I never bothered to ask about your family. When did you go back? After you left me at the school?”

He nodded.

“You said you can’t go back. You spoke from experience.” This time she put her hand out and placed it gently on his leg. His body stiffened beneath her touch. But he didn’t move away.

“You should head home,” he said.

Those were definitely not the words she wanted to hear.

“Walk with me?” she asked, knowing he’d say no. And he didn’t disappoint. He shook his head. He probably wanted to spend some time alone. She understood. Keeping something to yourself was one thing. When you spoke it out loud it became that much more real.

At least her parents were probably dead. To imagine them out there alive and killing innocents, that was more than she could stand.

She stood and brushed off her jeans. “Okay, then,” she said. “I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Maybe,” he said, which was his standard reply. But there was a hint of a smile on his face again and that made her know he’d be there. “Be careful.”

Now it was her time to nod. “You too. Stay alive.” Without waiting for a reply, she turned and headed off into the night.

MICHAEL

The strange guy made his way across campus with ease. He seemed to know all the shortcuts. He led them west past the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and through the parking lot. There were a lot of abandoned cars and a few of them even had bodies still inside them. The Baggers may have killed this far down, but they still hadn’t been around to clean up. All four doors were open on an SUV, and Michael turned away quickly when he saw a child seat along with a blanket and a purplish lump that might have been a foot. He checked to see if Clementine had noticed but she was preoccupied with studying the back of the stranger’s head.

“My name’s Raj,” he said as they raced along.

“I’m Clementine and that’s Michael.”

They came out at the bottom of the lot and beside the abandoned attendant booth, where they crossed the road to the Museum of Anthropology.

“We’ll take cover there,” Raj said.

“Seriously?” Michael said. The building in front of them was bright and cheerful. Surrounded by trees, it was still noticeable from the main road and the structure had twice
as many large windows as safe, sturdy brick or steel. “Are you sure it’s safe? That’s a lot of glass. Kinda easy entrance. Hard to barricade. Shouldn’t we be looking for a bomb shelter or something?”

Raj shook his head and grinned as if Michael had said the dumbest thing on the planet. “It’s called hiding in plain sight. We’ve been here since the beginning. They’ve crashed and burned all the dorms and totaled the Student Union Building. They tore apart the gymnasium brick by brick and you saw what they did to the library. But they haven’t come here.”

“Right in the open where they’d never expect it,” Clementine said. “Genius.”

Michael frowned.

“And there are good exits,” Raj said. “Behind the museum is nothing but forest. It leads in many directions. Down to the water or around the university and back toward Vancouver. We’ve got stuff hidden in the woods. Food and water. All sorts of supplies. We even got a boat. If we have to leave in a hurry we can get out virtually undetected.”

“You keep saying ‘we,’” Michael said. “How many people are there?”

Raj grinned. “Sixty or so.”

“Is there a guy named Heath?”

Raj paused. “Don’t think so, but that doesn’t mean much. We’re pretty big. I don’t know all the names. But you’ll see for yourself.”

They walked right up to the front doors and Raj tapped several times on the glass. Raj pointed up toward the ceiling and waved.

“Security cameras,” he said. “We’ve got them hooked up to a generator. Someone watching all the time. This ain’t no shoddy operation.”

Finally someone appeared from the left. A girl with long hair down to her waist came over and unlocked the doors. She didn’t look very happy. In her right hand she held something that looked like a Taser. Michael couldn’t tell for sure; he’d never seen one before except in the movies.

“What the hell, Raj?” she said. “Where are Harvey and Carol? Didn’t you find them? And who are these people? Are they safe?”

“They saved my life,” Raj said. “Helped me get out. Got myself into a spot of trouble. Won’t bore you with the details. Carol and the prof are dead. And I couldn’t find the keys.”

The girl sighed. “You’re gonna have to tell Ryder yourself, then. I’m not gonna be the bringer of that bad news.”

“I’ll do it,” Raj said. “But for the record, it wasn’t my fault. I wasn’t the idiot that went out this morning without telling anyone.”

“No, but you’re the idiot that brought back strangers,” the girl said. “And you know Ryder’s policy on that.”

“Relax, babes,” Raj said. “It’s all good. These kids are cool. They’re just looking for someone. They’ll chill here for a bit while it dies down outside.”

The girl locked the glass doors and sighed heavily. “Come on, then,” she said. “Face the music.” She gave Michael and Clementine a glance that indicated they were hardly worth her time. “Follow me. I’ll take you to the boss.”

Michael looked over at Raj, and the chem student nodded at both of them. “She’s right. If we don’t go straight to Ryder, he’ll just have some sort of hissy fit later. Best to get it over with. Come on, I’ll introduce you to our just and fancy leader.”

There was no missing the sarcasm in his voice. Neither Raj nor the long-haired girl seemed to care much for this Ryder
guy. Michael figured there was a good reason behind it and he was about to find out why.

They headed through a set of doors and into a huge room filled with impressive artifacts. There were half a dozen totem poles, all bearing animals that probably had some mythological story behind them. Giant stone carvings and wooden boats were on display. Too bad there was no one left to appreciate them. Taking a left, they went through another set of doors, which opened to several more rooms that had hundreds of glass cases filled with all sorts of anthropological items.

Michael wondered where everyone was. Raj said there were at least sixty people. They didn’t see a single one as they walked along. Just how big was this building?

They moved through several more rooms before finally stopping in front of a door that had the word “office” stenciled at the top. The girl turned and smiled wickedly at them.

“He’s doing whatever it is he does,” she said. “You’re on your own from here on out.” Without waiting for a response, she knocked several times and then disappeared back down the corridor.

“She’s polite,” Clementine said.

“She grows on you,” Raj said, and he gave Michael a wink. Opening the door, Raj leaned to the side and motioned with his hand for them to walk through.

Michael went first. The room was long and cast in shadows. Against the back wall, a man in his early twenties sat behind a desk. Beside him a small lamp burned. There were no windows in the room and no other doors. It must have been some sort of storeroom at one point.

The desk was filled with papers. The guy sitting behind it was scribbling something meticulously in a notebook. When he finally glanced up, his eyes met Michael’s and there was no
missing the jolt of surprise that forced him to straighten up and push his chair back a few inches.

“Raj?” The guy’s voice was calm. “What is this?”

“They’re cool,” Raj said. He quickly explained the situation, starting with how they’d all met and ending with the deaths of Harvey and Carol. It didn’t take very long.

“And you know these people are safe because . . .”

“Well, they haven’t killed me yet. Or anyone else.”

The guy named Ryder stood up and walked out from behind his desk. He approached Clementine and grabbed her by the arm.

“Hey!” Michael grabbed Clementine’s other arm and yanked her back toward him.

But the guy held firm. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a flashlight and brought it up to Clementine’s face. Pointing the light right into her eyes, he studied them carefully. Once he finished, he did the same thing to Michael.

Michael immediately understood. He was searching for black veins or a lack thereof. Proof that they were still human.

“You both need to leave this room,” Ryder said. Clicking the flashlight off, he placed it on the table behind him. “Please wait outside. I want to have a chat with Raj alone.”

Michael stood his ground. He didn’t like the way Ryder smiled. His lips may have been turned upward, but his eyes were cold and deadly. He stepped closer to the guy in a way that forced Clementine behind him. Staring straight into Ryder’s eyes, he waited.

Raj got him to back down. “It’s cool,” he said. “May be better if we sort stuff out anyway. Gotta talk about the prof and how we’re gonna find those keys. If you head toward the hall, you’ll find Katarina. She’ll take you to the cafeteria. Just tell her I said so.”

“Come on.” Clementine spoke directly into his ear. He allowed her to take his hand and lead him out the door. Ryder closed it behind them and there was a click as the dead bolt slid into place.

“That guy gives me the creeps,” Michael said as he stared at the door.

“He can’t be that bad,” Clementine said as she tugged gently on his arm. “Especially if he’s managed to keep all those people alive. He’s smart enough to be checking our eyes. We should be doing that too. Come on, I could use a drink. And it gives me a chance to look for Heath. If Raj isn’t back in half an hour, I’ll let you break down the door and be a hero.”

Michael finally nodded and followed her. They walked through a few of the display rooms before they found Katarina. Clementine repeated what Ryder had said. She didn’t look very happy about the idea, but she nodded and led them straight to the cafeteria.

There they found more survivors.

A bunch of them were hanging out. There must have been at least twenty faces. Most of them were drinking cups of coffee poured from a gigantic espresso machine. A few others were eating food that must have been prepared in the big kitchen. The food smelled warm and surprisingly appealing. Clementine squeezed Michael’s hand as they walked past a girl eating a slice of pizza. Melted cheese fell in long strands from her lips.

Katarina ushered them over to a corner where there were some empty tables. “You can sit here and wait,” she said. “Raj will come for you when he’s finished.” Without waiting for their answer, she turned and walked away, her heels clicking on the tiled floor.

“I want a generator,” Clementine whispered in his ear.
They sat down together on the same side, their backs to the wall. “These people are living like kings. I haven’t had pizza in forever. Where do you think they got the cheese? Do you think they have a working freezer?”

“They must have,” Michael said. “But this can’t be safe. How is it they haven’t been spotted? It makes no sense. It can’t be this easy.” His eyes came to rest on a guy with flaming red hair. He had a large espresso on the table in front of him. He spooned in a generous amount of sugar. There wasn’t any fresh cream, just powdered milk, but Michael couldn’t care less. His mouth started to water.

How unfair was this? Some people were living in hellholes without water and light and the monstrous Baggers still managed to find them and hunt them down to almost extinction. How was it this incredibly large group managed to hide right out in the open and have luxuries like coffee and pizza? Not to mention a generator that most likely gave them an abundance of hot water. Looking around, Michael couldn’t see a dirty face among the lot of them. And their clothing was fresh and probably smelled like detergent.

“Hey.” The red-haired guy finally noticed Michael studying him. “Want some coffee, man?”

“Sure,” Clementine said, elbowing Michael in the ribs before he could refuse. It was amazing how well she knew him.

The red-haired guy went over to the espresso machine and expertly prepared two cups for them. Afterward, he dropped the coffee off at the table and immediately left. That appeared to be the limit to his hospitality. The same went for the rest. Although they gave the occasional nod or smile, the group stayed as far away from Michael and Clementine as possible.