Edge of Instinct: Rabids Book 1 (15 page)

“It means the gate’s openin’. Someone’s comin’ in from the outside. They do the blood testin’, and if they pass, the siren goes off to warn the guards to be ready for any Rabids that try and get through at the same time.”

“So we’re safe, we’re good.” Amiel breathed in relief. The relief was short lived. “Wait. Someone’s coming through? You don’t think…” She paused as the doors swung open, and none other than Malinda Hilden’s entourage lumbered through the gate. Her Harley designed bullet proof car sat smack dab in the middle of a fleet of other guard cars. Huge waste of gas, huge risk of life, all for a week cut short at the spa.

“Wicked Witch of the East, 3 o’clock,” Tandy joked through the intercom, though his voice had a warning edge to it. Amiel slowly turned her head to the right, coming face to face with her mother’s steely gaze as she drove by. Amiel stopped breathing, waiting. Malinda leaned out of the window to talk to one of the guards.

“Markwell, is there any word from the city of my daughter?” Malinda’s pristine voice grated on Amiel’s nerves, and it wasn’t until that moment that she realized how much she had treasured the relative quiet of the garage.

“No word of her as of yet, ma’am. We were just about to let these two through, unless you wanted us to look into them further.” He seemed hesitant to even ask, proving he really was a friend to Tandy. Malinda Hilden took one look at the two bikers at the gate, and shook her head in disgust.

“Let them through. The sooner we are without their sort of filth, the better. My daughter would never do something so stupid.” She spared them not so much as another glance as she rolled up her window and signaled her driver to continue. Amiel heaved a heavy sigh of relief and a shaky laugh.

“You were right, Tandy, helmets are a great idea!” His deep baritone laughter ringing in her ears made her mouth stretch into a grin and her weary heart a little warmer. The guard signaled them to move forward.

“Have a safe journey, Tandy.” He glanced at Amiel, and something in his eyes told her that he suspected just who she might be. She held her breath, afraid he would turn her in at any moment. “Ma’am.” He nodded to her, before backing up and signaling them onward. Once outside, the heavy gates began their slow closure, and Amiel noticed there was no black charred line signifying an electric field.

“Why don’t they have one of those handy bug zappers like you do?” she asked curiously, knowing she was looking for any excuse to procrastinate the next step in their journey.

“Too big of a perimeter to cover. They’re workin’ on findin’ a way to make it work over a larger distance, such as clear round a city. But til then, they just gotta use guards, weapons, and giant walls to keep the buggers away. Biggest distance they’ve gotten it to work on is the size of a house. My garage is pushin’ the limits.” She gulped in exasperation, wondering why he left that part out while she was there alone. He shrugged innocently, as though he could read her thoughts. He turned her way, and though he wore thick sunglasses, she was sure he was studying her in that searching way of his.

“Don’t they teach y’all anythin’ in school these days?” She frowned. Apparently they needed to improve the current
How To Survive The Zombie Apocalypse 101
courses.

“So…that’s it? We just drive away now?” she asked in disbelief, almost afraid to believe it could have been that simple to escape the city limits.

“The process on your way
out
of town is much easier than the one going back
in,
remember? If you’re headed out of town, they’re more than willin’ to get rid of ya. However, if y’all were tryin’ to get back in, the process would be a lot more intense. They want no opportunity for the infection to come into their town.” She nodded, torn between relief and fear as she looked out at the landscape before them. Whereas the space between the Inner and Outer Gates had been a vast open area of dirt and wasteland, the area standing before her now was in wild contrast. Green trees grew as far as the eye could see, only separated by a few thin meandering ribbons of road before them, each branching off in a different direction.

The Outer Gates closed behind them with a loud thud of finality. Amiel sat astride her bike, the engine thrumming gently beneath her as she stared at the vast land before her. She had thought she’d been out on her own at the garage. But there she had still been inside the Outer Gates, with only a small clutch of rogue Rabids. She
had
been taught a few things in her school classes. But learning from books, and seeing it with your own eyes were two entirely different things, especially since the things in books paled in comparison to the true realities. And now, facing it, she felt the overwhelming depth of what she was about to endure. No more safety of electric fences and giant walls. Her true first step of adventure had begun, and there was no turning back

“Ready to go, honey?” Tandy’s voice crackled in her ear. She turned to look at him, decked out in his bandanna, black goggles, and a lower bandana with the skeletal mouth panted over where his own mouth would be. Weapons covered him, guns and knives in various forms and sizes. He looked formidable, and he was on her side. Gripping the handles tighter, she faced forward with a solid determination.

“Ready.”

“Let’s go make ya a Texan then, Amiel.” He revved the bike and shot forward. With a smile, she moved forward to ride at his side.

Amiel

“Pit stop up ahead, Amiel,” Tandy warned over the Bluetooth at her ear. According to the read out on her bike’s screen, they’d been riding for almost ten hours. The roads had been in worse shape this time than Tandy had expected. Apparently a huge storm had blown through and the roads were filled with debris. They’d stopped off to fill up Tandy’s bike and topped off Amiel’s about four hours ago. According to Tandy her tiny size worked in her favor, making her bike more fuel efficient. They’d stopped only long enough to fill up, and then they’d been on their way again. She hadn’t even gotten off the bike. She’d been forced to use the bladder bag twice so far. As humiliating as peeing in a bag was, the creeped out sensation she’d carried since that morning was worse. The feeling that had been her ghostly companion since they’d left the Outer Gates was enough to encourage her onward without complaint.

Still, Tandy’s announcement brought her a sense of relief in more ways than one. She needed to pee again, and stopping meant she wouldn’t have to pee in the nasty sloshing bag at her side this time. How much could that thing hold before it left a constant trail behind her, anyways? Here Rabids, follow my trail of pee. Gross. Her legs and butt had gone numb about three hours ago, her arms an hour ago. Honestly she was surprised it hadn’t happened sooner. This was her first time on a
very
long motorcycle trip after all. The idea of stretching her limbs felt like heaven.

Mostly Amiel was eager to get to safety. Tandy had explained that these waypoints boasted the same protective measures as his garage, and since she’d been practically climbing out of her skin since the trip began, she couldn’t wait to get inside the cocoon of protection. At first she’d thought it was simply the nervousness of the trip assailing her. Her eyes had scanned every inch of terrain they passed. Surprisingly she hadn’t seen a single Rabid. Tandy had commented several times that that was quite out of the ordinary. He hadn’t said it out loud, but she could tell it was putting him on edge as well.

Amiel feared it was more than nervousness biting at her heels. The sensation was so closely related to those that she’d felt in the garage, she didn’t need the tags heated warnings to confirm her fears. They were being followed by Rabids. She’d been constantly monitoring the little black screen before her, but aside from a few distant warnings it hadn’t produced any conclusive evidence to back her theory. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the Rabids were following some carefully planned form of attack, as though keeping their distance until the right moment.

Afraid that Tandy would tell her they needed to turn back or not make any stops at all, she’d refrained from mentioning her suspicions. Besides, what would she say? “
My dead brother’s necklace gets all hot and bothered when Rabids come near. Oh and I’ve got the goose bumps
.” Not the greatest story to tell a man who had the power to leave a crazy girl alone in the wilderness if he decided she wasn’t worth the bother. 

“Ready to pull off for the night, honey?” Tandy pulled the bandana down from his face, revealing a bright smile that was in blaring contrast to the dark dirt stains around the rest of his face. She smiled, once again grateful for her full face helmet. Her neck would be a disaster, but her face was dirt free.

“More than you know, Biker Man! I think I may have left my legs somewhere back there.” He laughed at her, and she couldn’t help the sigh of frustration. Obviously he’d done this more than her, but she felt like a complete wimp. As though sensing her frustrations foundation, Tandy’s smile widened with the shake of his head.

“No worries, girl. You’ll find your legs at the rest stop. And a toilet.” The humor in his voice remained, but she thought she detected a hint of relief as well. Her smile returned, pleased he wasn’t completely above the rigors of the trip. His arm lifted, silently pointing ahead and to the right of them. In the distance she could see a couple of small stubs sticking up out of the ground. As they neared, the stumps turned into a plainly built shelter consisting of four poles, and a roof, a secondary small and enclosed shed, and what looked invitingly like a porta potty. Porta potties aren’t exactly high on her list of things to get excited about, but this trip was quickly changing her perceptions of gratitude for the little things. That John looked like heaven.

“Flip your solars off and bring ‘em in, honey.” Amiel did as he said, belatedly remembering his earlier warnings. They had to run on gasoline near the electric fields, or the intensity of the fields would burn out the solar instruments. Moving slowly and deliberately so as to ensure she didn’t push the wrong button with her numbed digits, the solars quietly slipped into their pockets in the bike, and Amiel felt the shift in power in the engine beneath her. Tandy gave her the thumbs up before pressing the correct code on the screen of his bike to signal the release of the electric field. Apparently each travel agent of the Vasts knew the ever changing codes to the rest areas, an effort made to protect the precious gasoline resources within. The field winked out long enough for them to zoom inside before popping and sizzling into place at their backs.

As their engines cut off, Amiel quickly yanked free her helmet and zoned in on the porta potty. The hairs on the back of her neck rose in the afternoon heat, but she ignored them, fixated solely on relieving herself. Tandy climbed off his bike, stretching with an audible pop or two from his back in the process. She watched his legs in envy as he moved toward her without a trace of wobble. Her guide pulled the dark shades from his face, revealing more pale vs. dirt stained outlines. It made the merry crinkles at the corners of his eyes stand out as he smiled.

“Alright then, honey, nice and slow. Most first timers don’t run out on a cross country road trip first thing they learn to ride. Gettin your land legs back’ll take some time I reckon.” He gripped her upper arm for support as she kicked the stand on the bike and shakily stood. “Y’all wanna disconnect the tube in your pant leg first, or you’re gonna have a mess.” Her cheeks heated as she remembered her lovely black bagged companion. Giggling nervously she did as he’d instructed, then tossed her opposite leg over the seat. Almost immediately her knees buckled. Tandy chuckled, his grip on her arm the only thing keeping her steady and upright.

“Sorry,” she whispered, humiliated.

“Doin’ just fine, honey. Don’t go worryin’ yourself,” he reassured, before placing her hands on the seat. “Y’all just stand here til the world stops a rockin’. I’m gonna go check the facilities out and make sure they ain’t compromised.”

“Compromised?”

“Way out here, these waypoints don’t always get much use. Them Cut’s keep tryin’ to figure out how to bypass the energy field.”

“Bypass it? Does that mean they can get in here with us while we sleep?” Her mind instantly switched to the Raiders and she wondered if they would one day figure out how to bypass the Fields as well. She shuddered, muscles tensing at the thought.

“Ain’t gonna lie, it’s possible. But they typically ain’t dumb enough to try it when someone’s inside. When nobody’s inside, the fields run on the lowest power possible. With somebody inside it though, the fields get ratcheted up to their highest.”

So the waypoints weren’t as safe as she’d hoped. It was still better than being out in the open, she reasoned. Releasing an unsteady breath, she silently assured him with a nod that her legs were fine enough she could handle it alone, and he strode purposefully toward the small buildings. Gun drawn in one hand, knife in the other, he hunted around until he declared their little bubble to be safe and bad guy free. Returning to his ride he dislodged the black bag and headed to the porta john without comment. By the time he returned to hook what she assumed was an empty bag back onto his bike, her legs and arms were feeling good enough that her hopes of walking without collapse had risen. Grabbing the black bag as discretely as she could, she took her chances.

She didn’t fall on her face, but the mixture of having been on a bike for so long, and the fact that she had to pee so badly, led to a strained sort of bowlegged stride. Amiel didn’t care. She just needed that bathroom, and a moment of privacy to regroup. The familiar goose bumped shiver raced up her spine as she walked, doing nothing if not increasing her pained gait. She felt like a rabbit being hunted by a hidden predator. Locking the door behind and standing on the seat, she stretched upward to look out the vent holes, eyes searching the horizon. And for just an instant, thought she saw movement. Straining her gaze, she found no more movement and couldn’t be sure if it had been a trick of the heat, or true movement. Probably just an animal. She was jumping at shadows that weren’t even there.

When finished with her business, Amiel unscrewed the pee bag and dumped out its contents too, with a scrunched face of disgust. The porta potty was like a sauna, sweat instantly soaking through her shirt, especially since she didn’t have the coolant pack running in her leather jacket. It didn’t smell that great, either. Though to be fair, half of that scent was likely from her own body. The feeling of being hunted returned the moment she exited the porta potty. Her eyes swung left and right as she searched. Still nothing. The tags had remained in a constant state of brooding heat since they had left the Outer Gates. Maybe they were broken? Or the heat of the journey and her own body were screwing with its readings? She stared out at the tree line they had exited from earlier, squinting harder as the sensation crawled slowly across her skin like a caress, tightening muscles as it went until her whole body was coiled with anticipation. The trees ahead seemed crisp in their clarity, and the harder she stared, the more certain she was that something was there, staring right back at her. Amiel shuddered, thinking of the creepy Raider dude on the cameras.

“Whatcha lookin’ at?” Amiel jerked, surprising both herself and Tandy as she landed a punch to his arm, a punch hard enough that it actually rocked him to the side. Her eyes grew wide and instantly the apologies began pouring out.

“Gosh, Tandy, I am so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you that hard, or at all really. I am
so
sorry. Are you okay?” He stared at her.

“Hell’s Bells, girl! When ya lay it down, y’all really lay it down!” Her horrified expression turned stricken.

“I am so, so sorry! I really am. I have no idea what happened. I just keep getting this creeped out feeling. Like someone- or something- is watching us, and I was concentrating really hard trying to see, and I thought I saw something move, and then you came up behind me and scared me, and I just…reacted?” The whole spiel poured out in a long never ending jumbled sentence, and she cringed wondering if he was going to be angry with her, maybe even leave her out here in the middle of nowhere. Just then, his surprised expression shifted to a good natured smile, and a booming laugh filled the humid air.

“I ain’t mad at ya, honey! I’m derned proud! I was worried when we didn’t get to work on much self-defense, but that lil display just gave me more confidence in your abilities.” She shivered slightly as another creepy crawly skin episode struck. Her head swiveled toward the tree line once more, and this time she definitely saw movement there. Tandy nodded, a heavy frown lining his brow.

“Got good instincts, too. It’s a pack of Rabids. Noticed ‘em a few hours back. Been followin’ us for a while it seems.” Her head whiplashed toward him so fast it nearly made her dizzy, her instincts screaming that the Rabids behavior wasn’t normal.

“Why would they do that? Do they always chase people this far?” He shook his head, eyes never wavering from the tree line.

“Rabes enjoy a good chase like any other predator. But travelin’ at the speed we were, we shoulda outpaced ‘em a long time ago. They typically don’t follow their prey outside their huntin’ grounds neither. They’re pretty territorial like that. The thing that bothers me most though, is the fact that it’s broad daylight. If it were dark, or even when the sun was at its weaker points, they’d be more likely to follow outside of their grounds, but they sure ain’t too fond of the sun, especially at its peak of heat.” He smoothed his fingers over his mustache, thoughtful, before rubbing his hands together and donning a cheerful expression.

“I wouldn’t worry too much, honey. We’ll wait out the night, give the bikes a chance to cool, then head on out to our next waypoint at daylight. They’ll lose interest.” Amiel wasn’t so sure. If her instincts were right, the pack had been following a whole lot longer than Tandy suspected. Why follow with such dedication, only to give up when your prey was right in front of you. But she once again kept her concerns silent, following Tandy to the bikes. It was only then that she realized she was still lugging her bladder buddy around with her. Shyly stuffing it back onto the bike for tomorrow, she waited for Tandy’s direction on what to do for the night

He had her extend her solars, catching the last of the sun’s rays to store overnight. He then unloaded two bags of supplies, tossing one to her. Amiel jumped as the electric field around their safe hold sizzled and popped. Looking over to the disturbance, she saw a pile of oily black ash, and on the outside, half of a severed lizard body. Instantly she thought back to the kamikaze Rabids at the shop, evaporating into the field at the garage. Only then it had been dark enough she couldn’t see the details of exactly what was left of their bodies. Staring at the remains of the lizard, she was grateful for that shield of darkness.

“The field zaps anything that comes near it, remember? Bugs, lizards, and people alike.” It wasn’t until she felt Tandy’s grip on her shirt tail, that she realized shed been heading over for a closer look. He pulled her back a bit, eyeing her proximity to the field. “Best you keep your distance too, honey. Be an awful shame comin’ all this way, just to end up ash half way there, don’t ya think?” Amiel stared at that zapped lizard, throat feeling dry.