VOLITION (Perception Trilogy, book 2) (15 page)

“But I do have a lot of questions, and you’d better tell me the
truth.”

“Fine. Can I do a coffee run, first?”

I was dying for a coffee. I nodded, and Noah put on his ball cap.
He really did look like a different guy with long hair, a cap and a scruffy
beard. Soon I’d be sharing my hair ties with him.

I huddled under the covers of my bed while I waited for him to
return. The shivers gradually resided and I wasn’t sure if showering had been worth
it or not. I had time to take in the room and my gaze landed on a framed photo
on the shelf. Younger versions of Mary and Jabez stared back. Two adults stood
behind them, smiling. Their parents, I presumed. I wondered what had happened
to them.

I heard Noah call for me.

“That was fast,” I said when I joined him in the living area. Then
again, he wasn’t taking time to visit with Mary anymore.

“There’s a coffee shop nearby.”

He removed a bagel from a bag and then handed the bag to me.
There were three more. Of course, we were now a group of four. Even though I’d
already eaten a sandwich earlier, I found I was hungry again. I took my bagel
and coffee and sat on a chair across from Noah.

“What’s the story here? Who are Mary and Jabez, really?”

Noah swallowed before answering. “They’re just people like us,
trying to get by.”

“Like us?” I arched an eyebrow. “As in on the run?”

“No. As in trying to survive.”

“How do they survive? I mean, do they work?”

Noah eyed me over the rim of his coffee cup. “You know there
aren’t any jobs.”

“Don’t avoid my question. How do they pay for the electricity?
Their food? Where do they get money?”

Noah hedged and I had a feeling it had something to do with my
recent discovery.

“Do you know that Mary’s a boxer?”

Noah’s head shot up.

“I found the gym. Mary and Jabez were sparring.” Which on
reflection explained their buff physiques.

Noah sipped his coffee and set his cup down. “They run a
virtual fight club. It’s how they make money.”

My eyes fluttered. “I don’t understand.”

“The ring is rigged with sensors. When similar sensors are
attached to a boxer it’s possible to fight another boxer in another ring, as
long as that ring and boxer have the same sensors. Bookies take bets. The
fighters get a cut.”

But Jabez’s bruises were real. “How do they get hurt, then?
Aren’t they just beating air?”

“I wish. The virtual images form a molecular structure that
imitates real mass. It’s like you’re boxing another human.”

I drank my coffee, trying to absorb this concept. “Does Mary
fight as well?” I asked.

“No. So far it’s just a cock fight.”

I still didn’t understand why Mary and Jabez would let us live
off them, unless…

My stomach dropped. “You’re not going to fight, are you?”

Noah’s eyes settled on mine. “I have to. We’re out of money.”

I shook my head. “There has to be another way.”

“If there is, I can’t think of one. Anyway, it’s not forever.
Once I make enough money to move on, we’ll do something else.”

I imagined Noah with Jabez’s beat-up face. “But how?” I
swallowed. “You’ll lose.”

Noah chuckled without smiling. “Have a little faith. Jabez will
train me first. They get a cut if I win, so it’s in his best interest to train
me well.”

“I see.” That was what Mary meant when she said us being here
was in our mutual best interest. “When do you start?”

Jabez answered, startling me as he entered the room. “As soon
as I’m done breakfast.” He smirked at me when he saw my shocked expression.

Mary was on his heels, all washed up, wet hair slicked back
into a pony. I guessed the gym had a shower and I bet they had hot water, too.

I tried to recover my composure. I wiped my mouth with my
napkin and sipped on my coffee, like I didn’t have a care in the world.

Noah left with Jabez. He gave me a quick head shake before he
went that told me he didn’t want me to tag along. Mary started to tidy up, and
I offered to help.

“I’ve got it already,” she said from the kitchen. “Most of it
goes in the trash.” She came back and leaned against the door frame, arms
folded. “Chloe, can I ask you something about your cousin?”

I flinched a little at the use of the false term. “Sure.”

“He says he’s never had a chip, but…” Her eyes landed on the
scar on my right hand.

“Our families don’t exactly see eye to eye on some things.”

“Right. But yours is gone?”

I nodded. “Long gone.”

“Because we don’t want to get discovered here.”

“I know. We don’t want to get discovered, either.”

“I’m glad we understand each other.” She nibbled on a
fingernail before adding, “Is he single?”

“Huh?” I was stunned by her forthrightness.

“Jude? I’m presuming he’s single. Otherwise, well, he’d have
brought a girlfriend if he had one, right?”

“Um, well, he did, uh, have a girlfriend,” I said clumsily.
“And I think he still loves her.”

My heart squeezed. I hoped he did.

“Oh. Anyway, don’t say anything to him,” Mary said. “I was just
curious.” She pulled on her winter coat and boots and left without saying where
she was going or inviting me along. I sat in the stillness. What was I supposed
to do with myself?

I was tempted to sneak outside now that I had no one to babysit
me, but my curiosity about Noah was a greater pull. I wrapped my sweater
tightly around my mid-section and headed down the hallway. When I made the
turn, I could see that the gym door was cracked open. I stepped quietly to it
and peeped in.

Jabez’s low voice resonated through the cavernous room. “I have
you booked to fight in three weeks,” he said. “You’re going to have to work
your ass off if you want to win.”

“I want to win,” Noah said.

They both wore workout pants and muscle shirts, and though
Jabez’s shoulders and biceps were larger than Noah’s, Noah’s looked good, too. Their
feet were bare and they wore boxing gloves on their hands. Not the big, fat,
red kind. Slim like fall-time gloves.

Jabez demonstrated the one/two punch on one of the heavy bags
hanging from the ceiling. Noah copied. He lacked Jabez’s confidence, and Jabez
goaded him on. He switched to one/two/three punch sequence then the
one/two/three/four punch sequence.

This was followed by Jabez demonstrating a front kick.

Noah cried out with his first try, grabbing at his groin, and
Jabez laughed. “You’ll loosen up,” he said.

I laughed a little, too. Noah was cute with all his beginner’s
awkwardness.

Jabez called out, “You might as well come in, Chloe.”

Caught. Noah’s eyes snapped to the door. I slipped in and
shrugged apologetically. “I can go,” I said.

“No,” Jabez said, pointing to a row of chairs set up on the
other side of the ring. “He has to get used to spectators.”

I covered my nose, and crossed the floor to the seating
section. The room smelled of perspiration, dust and mold. Noah’s eyes followed
me as he wiped sweat from his brow. I think he felt embarrassed, but it was his
idea to do this, so he’d better get over it.

They continued with the punching and kicking, and Noah’s groans
grew more frequent. I couldn’t imagine him being ready to fight in three weeks
and apprehension grew in my chest.

“Now I’m going to introduce you to Mickey,” Jabez said. He
opened up a control panel against the wall and pushed buttons.

I gasped a little as a virtual image of a man appeared in the
ring. He was naked, except for a pair of boxer shorts, and looked twice as buff
as Noah.

Noah’s eyebrows jumped. “I don’t think I’m ready for Mickey.”

“Don’t worry. I have him on the lowest level. A five-year-old
could beat him.” Jabez told Noah to remove his shirt and then proceeded to
place circular adhesives on his chest, biceps and abs. “These are the sensors,”
he explained. “In a real fight, the other guy will be wearing these as well.”
He added a headband. “Head sensors. Now your opponent knows where your face and
neck is.”

“Why don’t they just fight in person?” I called out. “Why the
virtual fight?”

“Besides the fact that these kinds of fights are illegal, the
fighters don’t all live in this city. Jude’s first fight will be with a guy in
Los Vegas.” He lifted the rope. “Get in.”

Noah climbed in, and I could see the anxiety on his face. He
didn’t really want to do this. My gut clenched. I had to find a way to talk him
out of it.

“Mickey is just a training device,” Jabez said. “It gives you
the sense of what it’ll be like to fight someone who’s not actually in the ring
with you, but he doesn’t have the same density. Mickey’s punches will pinch.
The real thing will bruise and break bones.”

“No—” I caught myself in time. “Jude. Are you sure about this?”

Noah answered by scowling. “Let’s do it.”

Mickey made Noah look like an idiot and I felt embarrassed for
him. He winced each time Mickey got a shot at his face, and I think it stung a
little more than Jabez had led him to believe. Eventually, Noah started to get
the hang of it, and actually got a few punches in.

“I’m turning it up a notch,” Jabez said.

Ten minutes of Noah jabbing at the air and taking jabs to the
gut had him bent over and puffing. “I’m done,” he said.

Jabez smirked, showing no mercy. “Same time tomorrow.”

He disappeared out the door. Noah groaned as he stumbled toward
the shower room. I wasn’t sure what to do. Should I wait for him? Should I go?
And if so, go where to do what?

I decided that Noah wouldn’t want me waiting around. I had the
feeling he was annoyed that I’d shown up in the first place, since he’d made it
clear he didn’t want me to follow.

Too bad for him.

I left the gym and found my legs taking me in the opposite
direction of the living area. Near the end of the hall was another closed door
to a room that didn’t have windows facing the hallways. I pressed down on the
lever, and it opened easily. Obviously, nothing in here that someone wanted to
hide.

I eased the door open to expose an industrial-looking,
stainless-steel kitchen with oversized appliances and a long working island in
the center. Giant pots and pans hung from the ceiling. A deep sink with a snaky
water hose was situated under the window. A massive chopping block had a fully
stocked knife set nearby.

Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust and a coat of
oil residue from the deep fryer.

More evidence that the factory had once been a busy hive of
activity and full of life. So odd that only four of us occupied it now.

On my way back to the living area, I stopped to stare out at
the courtyard. Snow fell gently, covering the rectangular space in a broad,
unblemished, bluish-white blanket.

I ran for my jacket and boots, slipped them on and added my
hat, scarf and gloves. For some reason it was urgent for me to get out there,
to get outside. I wasn’t allowed to leave the building, but there was no harm
in going out into the private courtyard.

My lungs revolted at the sharp, frigid air. My breath blew out
in boisterous puffs and my nose hairs felt like they were freezing stiff.

I stepped toward the middle, and performed the task I came to
do. I fell onto my back and flapped my arms and legs. I stood carefully to take
a look at my creation. A snow angel.

It made me deliriously happy to do this again. Like it was a
promise of some kind, a new beginning.

I fell again and made another one. This time I stayed down. I
sucked snow off my glove.

Making angels reminded me of Noah. The time we were at the
commune, when I’d thought we had a second chance.

A tapping on the window broke my reverie. Noah stood there,
hair wet and brushed off his face, arms crossed casually.

He grinned at me.

A bubble of warmth stirred in my being, and I felt a smile form
in return. Maybe we still had a chance.

The next few days fell into a stiff routine. Noah trained often
with Jabez, which left me with plenty of time on my own. Mary gave me a few
chores to keep busy but the best thing she did was lend me her glass tablet so
I could read her twelfth grade text books. It was handy that she’d graduated a
year before me.

In the evening we’d eat dinner together, whatever Mary could
scrounge up for cheap somewhere, and we’d watch the election debates. I’d sit
in a chair opposite Noah, since we were
cousins
, and Mary sat on the
couch beside him, close enough to nudge him with her toes and pat his arm when
she found something interesting or funny. Close enough to make my blood steam.
I tried to ignore her. Jabez took the remaining chair.

Tonight was election night.

“A treat for the event,” Mary said. She brought in bowls of
microwave popcorn.

Jabez’s eyes widened. “I thought I smelled something heavenly.
Where’d you get it?”

“I got my sources.”

We munched happily in the dimmed lights of the living area, the
glow of the TV flashing over us. It was just like the movies— if only my
grandfather wasn’t the star of the show.

The news carried nothing but the numbers as they came in,
flashing large maps of the USA with states colored either red or blue,
depending on who won the vote there.

There was a disconcerting amount of blue springing up.

Clips of election highlights were played while we waited,
including one of Grandpa V and President Walker shouting at each other, two
verbal fighters dressed in thousand dollar suits.

Grandpa had his finger pointed and jabbed at the air. “You are
ignoring the threat of the Chinese nation in the name of tolerance to the
detriment of the American people!”

“And you are accusing the Chinese government of a conspiracy
with no proof,” the president responded. “You’re fear mongering.”