The Rabid (6 page)

"I think I'm gonna go scout out the place," I said. "Someone threw that wrench,
and if I can find them, maybe I can get some answers."

"Be careful please." She nodded. I agreed, cocking my gun. When I passed by Mr.
Meyers, I looked him straight in the eye.

"You prepared to use that handgun?"

"What are you talking about?" He tried to pretend like he didn't know what I
was talking about, but he didn't fool me.

"The Ruger you got stashed away in your belt." I didn't bat an eye. "Are you
prepared to use it if one of those things comes out while I'm gone?"

"How did you...?"

I inhaled a sharp breath through my nose.

He swallowed, but nodded. "I...I've practiced on the range a few times. I can use
it if the need arises."

"Good. I'll be back in a minute."

I stalked off toward the entrance of the tower. The glass doors were dirty;
handprints in grease, blood, and something else I didn't care to know were smeared
across the surface. There was a chain and huge padlock wound through the brass
handles. I nudged it with the barrel of my shotgun. None of those things were
going to get through those doors. There must have been people in there. And
there must have been another way in.

Other entrances under one of the tower"s enormous legs were also bolted shut
with padlocks. There was a side street just beyond the building, so I headed
for it. There really wasn't anyone around for miles. There had to be someone
inside the tower; why would the doors be locked from the outside?

As I rounded the corner, the Paris Casino and Resort came into view. It was a
huge, x-shaped building with a white exterior and windows that reflected the
setting sun. I looked back from where I'd come, but I couldn't see Lisa and the
others anymore.

Ah, Lisa...

I couldn't stop thinking about her for some reason. Yeah, she was gorgeous"a
great body, young, vibrant. But she was so serious. And she had a kid which
meant baggage, but he was pretty well-behaved. The night before when we'd
camped out in the Jeep, I'd offered to stay watch in case anything happened. It
was harder than ever to stop looking at her. I wanted to grab her; kiss her; do
other things to her...

A metal clang echoed to my left. I spun around, bringing my shotgun in front of
my chest. How could I let my guard down so easily?
No more thinking about
the hot little piece traveling with you, Jack; you have to focus!

In front of me, a huge, green overhang curved around the sidewalk. Underneath,
dark shop windows stared at me. The wind blew an empty recycle bin into the
glass window of a store. It thumped, but it wasn't the same sound I'd heard.

"Somebody there?" I swung my shotgun around in all directions.

"Yeah, somebody's here, man."

I passed by my old best friend as he leaned against a post. "You're not here, Silas."
Out of nowhere, my head started to throb. Silas chuckled, the hole is his chest
stretching and releasing more red goo.

"If I 'ain't here', then why are you talking to me?" He fell into step beside
me, mimicking my movements with a pretend gun. "Scared yet, Jack?"

"I'm not scared. Go away." I kicked a piece of trash out of my way, sending it
skittering into the street. The sound was deafening.

"Nope." Silas had always been stubborn like that. "I'm not going away until you
tell me why you did it."

"Did what?" I kept my voice low.

"Killed me and just left me there."

I spun around, lowering my gun so I could see his face. It was still Silas's
face all right"all gaunt and chiseled. But he was real pale, like a ghost. I
could see blue veins making a map across his skin. He crossed his arms over his
bleeding chest, waiting for an answer.

"You shouldn't have been joking like you were, Silas. It was stupid. It got you
killed." I felt bad for talking to him that way, but he needed to know the
truth.

A frown broke his face in half. "Listen to you, tryin" to justify your actions
and shit. don't gimme that. you're a murderer."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are. And you shouldn't keep it a secret. Why didn't you tell that hot
little piece of ass about me, huh? Why didn't you tell her what you did?"

"Don't talk about her that way."

"What are you gonna do, Jack?" He smiled like a jester. "Kill me again?"

"Shut up!"

The metal clang filled my ears again. I spun around with shotgun aimed, and
came end to end with a stranger doing the same. He held a mean looking pistol
at arm"s length, aimed straight at my chest. He was wearing all kinds of
leather and was decorated in piercings from head to toe.

"Who are you, man?" He pulled the hammer back.

"I don't wanna hurt you," I said. "I'm looking for a little girl."

The punk narrowed his eyes at me. I stood my ground, forgetting all about old Silas.

"Look..." I lowered my shotgun. "I'm on your side." I put both hands up in a defensive
pose. "I'm just looking for a little girl."

The punk stood his ground. "You and me both." He was still pointing the gun at
me.

I paused for a moment. "We met a couple on the side of the highway. They said
some guys came out and kidnapped their daughter. Know anything about it? She's
about eight years old, blond, blue eyes, goes by Rosalie."

It was his turn to pause. "that's exactly who I'm looking for."

"What do you mean?"

"Those morons she calls mom and dad are fucked."

"Keep talking."

He finally lowered the gun. "I stopped to help them, too. I'm guessing they
gave you that song and dance about some freaks bringin" her here."

I gave him a skeptical look. "Yeah. They mean you? Did you take her here?" I nodded
in the direction of the fake Eiffel Tower.

"No," he said. "
They
did."

I sighed. "Who?"

"Those idiots you picked up on the side of the road, man!"

"Wait...What?" My head was beginning to spin.

"They fuckin' jacked you, man! They live in there, man." The punk pointed his
gun at the tower.

"You mean they—"

"
Jack
!"

The two of us jolted at the scream. It sounded like Lisa. I turned in the
direction it had come from and found myself face to face with Rupert.

"I see you've found Connor." The man's face had completely changed from one of
distress to smug satisfaction.

"Oh, shit!" The punk named Connor turned tail and started running, the chains
on his jackets clinking together.

"Oh, no you don't." Without a second"s hesitation, Rupert pulled out the Ruger
and shot the guy square in the back.

I ducked at the sound and found myself horrified at the site of the poor kid"s
body bleeding out in the sand. But I regained my composure quickly enough to
twist around and point my gun in Rupert's face.

"Drop it." I leveled my voice as best I could.

"I don't think so."

"Why did Lisa scream?"

A twisted smile came across Rupert's face. "You want the truth?"

Without realizing what I was doing, I pulled the hammer back on my shotgun. I
wasn't even going to count to three.

But even before I could pull the trigger, Rupert pointed his gun at my leg and
fired one shot right into my knee.

"Fuck!" I went down. Blood poured between my fingers.

"Bye bye!" Rupert waved the pistol, turned and hightailed it out of there
before I could blink.

"God fucking damn it! I need this knee! Of all the fucking places to shoot me!"
I rocked back and forth in the sand. My head throbbed from the noise and dust.

"I need a vacation."

"
Jack
!"

Lisa screamed my name again. Her yell pushed adrenaline into my veins. I had to
get to her before something bad happened. Rupert had shot me with a .22, so it
was likely " albeit painful " to walk, but it definitely needed to be treated
right away.

"Here goes nothing..." I gritted my teeth and stood straight. Bones scraped
together. Pain shot into my thigh and all the way up my back.

"Fuck it." I inhaled deeply and started running.

When I turned the corner, I couldn't believe what I saw. Lisa was covered in
blood. Her clothes were stained red and there were little droplets on her face.
She was trying to hold Rex, but he was squirming and on the verge of what
looked like a mental breakdown. Alex, Sylvia, Rupert and his wife were nowhere
to be found.

"What the hell happened?" I went from
looking at Lisa's stoic face to the trail of blood that led to the door of the
casino. When I looked back at her, I noticed her eyes were fixated ahead.

"Lisa?"

"I
don't want to talk about it."

For a
second, words refused to come to me. "Wha...but...you're covered in blood! Whose
blood is that? How did this happen?"

"We
should leave."

I
felt my brow lower and my heartbeat quicken, causing my knee to throb. It
wasn't the time for her to be stubborn and emotionless.

"Well,
yeah... Rupert and his wife are not good people. But we need to find Alex and
Sylvia."

Rex's
face was turning violet.

"it's
dangerous here. We should go."

"But,
I"

I
wasn't able to finish my sentence because a half roar, half squeal erupted from
Lisa's son. His color turned from purple to red as tears streamed down his
cheeks. On instinct, I covered my ears and shut my eyes. Sheesh the kid was
loud.

His
wailing seemed to snap Lisa out of her daydream. "Alex's in there."

"
What?!
"

"One
moment." Lisa knelt down to her panicking son and placed a hand on his head.
Ever so gently, she stroked his hair. "Shhh... It's ok, Rex. Nothing is going to
hurt you. it's just you and me here. Just you and me."

I
watched in awe as Rex slowly broke from screaming, to just crying and finally
to sniffles.

"Would
you like the glasses?" She continued to pet his head as he nodded. She fished
around in her pockets for a moment. From the back of her jeans she uncovered a
pair of dark sunglasses and placed them gently on his nose. The affect was
immediate. He calmed.

"The
sunglasses are his own world. He prefers darkness, so it blocks out everything
else."

"Oh..."

She
glanced at my leg. "What happened?"

"I
got shot."

"By
who?"

"Rupert."

"I
should look at it, but Alex is in that tower. I don't know if she's alive or
dead."

The
word "dead" came from her mouth in monotone. It almost sounded like she didn't
care about her friends.

"Ok,
well...I found a way in, but the door is probably rusted shut."

"Where?"

She
began walking around the side of the casino before I could even point in the
general direction.

"This
way..." I said under my breath, limping behind her heels."What happened back
there, Lisa?" I watched her wipe blood from her face and shake it off her hand.

"I'm
not going to discuss it now."

What
the hell? "Why not?"

"Because."

I
tilted my eyes toward the sky. "Okay, mom."

She
ignored me as a set of stairs came into view. The rusty door looked the same as
I'd left it. Silas was at least gone. There was a large pool of red on the sand
a few yards ahead, but Connor's body was gone. As Lisa rounded the corner to
descend the concrete structure with little Rex in tow, I leaned against the
shoddy railing.

"You
owe me an explanation, though. I expect it later."

"I
don't owe you anything." She inspected the door carefully, letting go of Rex's
hand and pulling on the handle. But it didn't budge.

"I
think I deserve to know what happened. I'm not trying to pry. I'm only
concerned."

"I
appreciate the concern, but it isn't necessary." She began looking around on
the ground for something.

I
heaved a loud sigh. "You know...I'm not a creep. At least I don't think so."

"Okay."
She found a discarded metal pipe and picked it up.

"Okay,
so...I want to get to know you. I want to make sure you're safe. I want to make
sure the kid is safe. If you tell me what happened, I can help."

"No,
you can't. I'm perfectly capable of handling whatever emotions come out of that
situation. I don't need any help. I don't need protection, but, again, I
appreciate the concern for our safety."

"The
lock is the weakest part." I watched her try and insert the pipe between the
door and the jamb.