Highway To Armageddon Read online

  After Arrow spends several minutes perusing some of our files, he turns back to me and asks, “Just out of curiosity, why is Genesis-Lazarus your password? I didn’t think you guys were religious.”

  “We’re not. It’s…” I trail off and bite my tongue again. I really shouldn’t tell him. “I’m sorry, Arrow, but I can’t tell you what it means.”

  Arrow’s smirk returns. “And why not?”

  “I just can’t,” I snap.

  Arrow shrugs and grumbles, “Okay.”

  I can tell he’s hurt that I snapped at him. But I’ve already given him way more information than I should have. The only people who know the meaning behind Genesis-Lazarus are Lance and me. Dagger knew, too, of course, but he took our secret to his grave. Krystal knows what the password is, but she never bothered asking why we chose it. (Krystal isn’t the most curious person in the world.) I know it sounds dumb, but I like the fact that the meaning behind Genesis-Lazarus is our little secret… something only Lance and I share. I’ve already betrayed Lance’s trust by granting Arrow access to our files. I won’t betray it again by sharing something so personal.

  Arrow soon forgets about me snapping at him when I direct him to Rasputin’s profile. He’s astonished when he sees all the intel we have on him. He becomes even more amazed when I share our plan to infiltrate Rasputin’s inner circle by meeting with Igor Bolshevik, a Purple Dragon sympathizer rumored to be a close confident of the world’s most wanted man. If we can convince him to accept us as new members of his Alaskan gang, there’s a good chance we’ll be able to find Rasputin’s hiding place.

  “That’s genius!” Arrow exclaims. “The Purple Dragons and all their affiliates love taking on new, young members. Machete and I have done enough research to know that. We may have to kill one of their rivals to prove our loyalty, but that’s a small price to pay to capture the world’s most wanted fugitive. Damn, Red, you are so amazingly smart. You’re like the perfect girl.”

  I’m glad it’s dark because I’m sure my blushing cheeks look sunburned.

  Pretty soon our conversation turns from Mikhail to us. We take off our goggles and proceed to have a normal conversation. A regular, normal conversation you’d have with a friend… or even a boyfriend. We talk about our interests… what we like to do in our free time (what little of it we have), what our favorite foods are, our favorite drinks, favorite sports. I find myself rattling on and on like some love-struck girl who’s thrilled her crush is actually talking to her. At first I’m hesitant to cut loose and gab, but Arrow encourages me. He says he wants to know more about me. He wants to know all my likes, interests, hobbies, everything.

  I tell Arrow I like to paint and write poetry, and to my pleasant surprise he says he’d love to see my work someday. Lance never wanted to see my artwork or writing, even when we dated. Arrow confides in me that he likes to write as well. He even started a novel about teen bounty hunters, and one of the characters is based on me! I crack up and tell him that sounds awesome. He laughs and says it’s actually pretty bad. Somehow I doubt that.

  We soon move on to our dreams. I confide in Arrow that I would love to one day become a teacher, more specifically a history or English teacher. Arrow tells me I’d be a natural. He then says he’d like to become a community organizer, or maybe even an attorney so he can represent the poor and downtrodden in a court of law for little to no charge. I tell him he’d be fantastic, that the country needs someone like him to take on our corrupt judicial system. Needless to say the compliments flow freely between the two of us.

  Arrow pretty much has me in the palm of his hands, but he makes me fall for him even harder when he tells me his greatest dream is to marry an amazing woman like myself, someone he can cherish and grow old with. He wants to raise a giant family with her, having 6-10 kids that he can spoil rotten. And he hopes that soon there’s a lasting world peace, so the he can raise that family free from the specter of a nuclear holocaust. My heart flutters as he tells me all this. It’s the most romantic thing I’ve ever heard.

  Talk eventually turns to our families. Arrow explains his dad died when he was young, and so did his younger brother and sister. (His father died while on a bounty hunting mission with Machete, and his siblings died from one of the deadly influenza pandemics that seem to sweep across the globe every few years.) Arrow explains this is why Machete is so over-protective of him, why she’ll shoot someone without remorse if they so much as look at him funny. He’s all she has, and Machete is all he has…

  “Until now,” Arrow says, clutching my hands.

  My heart flutters once more. It’s like there’s a butterfly in my chest.

  “So what happened to your family?” Arrow inquires. “I don’t mean Dagger and Lance and all them, I mean your biological family.”

  A lump forms in my throat. I should have known this question was coming. Arrow has been very open and honest with me about his past. Why shouldn’t he expect the same from me? But I don’t like talking about my past. Even after all these years the emotions I have about it are too raw… too fresh. I’ve survived by keeping my feelings buried in the deepest, darkest depths of my soul… out of sight and out of mind.

  I look down at the ground and quietly say, “My parents died when I was very young. I was 8 or 9, I think. I don’t recall exactly.”

  Arrow rubs my shoulders. “I’m sorry, Red. I didn’t’ mean to make you upset. But is that why Dagger took you in?”

  “He didn’t take me in right away,” I say, struggling to fight back a flood of tears. “The next few years are kind of a blur. I…”

  I grow quiet. The years following my parents’ deaths are not a blur at all. I remember precisely what I went through. But I can’t talk about it. It’s too painful.

  “Hey, it’s okay,” Arrow says, wiping away my tears. “You don’t have to talk about it. I know you and Lance are pretty much alone now that Dagger’s gone. I didn’t know him all that well personally, but he’s definitely a legend, especially in Sanctuary 7. And from what I heard he was a great man and an amazing father.”

  “He was indeed,” I say, sniffling. “His kids, Blade and Harpoon, were devastated when he died. They’re just now beginning to get back to their old selves. For a while there we were all in a state of shock. Dagger always seemed so invincible. He avoided death hundreds of times before. His passing reminded me that any of us could go at any moment. Our time on this Earth is not a guaranteed thing. That’s why we should cherish the time we spend with the ones we love. Nothing lasts forever.”

  “I’m definitely cherishing this moment,” Arrow says.

  I smile and blink away my tears. Arrow is saying and doing all the right things to woo a girl like me. Right now he could ask me to run away with him and I’d seriously consider it.

  “By the way, I think my mom had a crush on Dagger,” Arrow says sheepishly.

  That causes me to burst out laughing. “Omigosh, really? Why do you think that?”

  “Occasionally we’d talk about you guys, and she’d just sort of smile and stare dreamily off into space when his name came up,” Arrow elaborates.

  I continue laughing hysterically. When I finally calm down enough to talk, I say, “Wow, could you imagine Machete and Dagger as a couple?”

  “They’d have some freaky offspring, that’s for sure,” Arrow snorts.

  Arrow gets all serious again. “My mom and I were actually wondering what happened to Dagger. All we heard was that Caesar’s goons killed him. I know you guys usually went on missions together. Did he go out by himself or something?”

  The lump in my throat returns. This memory is just as raw and fresh as the ones about my parents.

  Arrow senses I’m upset. “Nevermind, it was wrong of me to bring it up.”

  “No,” I say, shaking my head. “It’ll do me some good to share the story. I’ve kept my feelings on this bottled up for far too long. I think that’s one of my problems. I never take time to open up… to laugh… to cry.”
/>   Arrow tightens his embrace. “Whenever you need to talk, Red, I’m here for you.”

  “I know,” I whisper, resting my head against his chest.

  I take a deep breath and say, “A little over six months ago, Lance, Krystal and I fell deathly ill. We caught that crazy bird flu that swept across the planet last spring, the one that killed over 100,000 people and sickened millions more.”

  “Yeah, I remember that,” Arrow says. “My mom got it, too. For a few days there I didn’t think she’d make it.”

  “Yeah, it was a bad one. I remember watching a report about it a couple months ago. Scientists say now that the climate has gone hay-wire, we can expect to see more pandemics. Something about the warmer weather allowing mutated strains of bacteria and viruses to spread and flourish.”

  “That totally sucks,” Arrow groans. “I hate getting sick.”

  “Yeah, I know. So anyway, we were all so sick we couldn’t even get out of bed. Soon pretty much everyone in our apartment complex caught it, including Blade, Harpoon, Krystal’s grandmother, and Dagger. But Dagger was the most hard-headed man I’ve ever known. He refused to acknowledge he was sick, even when he started vomiting. He continued going after criminals while the rest of us stayed home to recuperate.”

  “Oh, I see,” Arrow says gloomily. He’s a smart guy; he can probably guess where this story is headed.

  “Apparently one night he got a tip about where Caesar was hiding out. He stupidly decided to go after him by himself. He… was killed during a shootout outside some night club in Cincinnati.”

  I struggle to keep my composure. Arrow’s embrace helps keep my tears in check.

  “Lance and I found out he died the following morning, when we saw his bullet-riddled corpse hanging from a light post on the news. If only he waited until we got better. We could have helped him. He was probably so delirious with fever that he didn’t know what he was doing. He was like a father figure to me, and I miss him dearly. We’ve managed to stay afloat by continuing our bounty hunting missions, but it’s hard. Dagger was so good at hunting down crooks. Lance, Krystal and I are just amateurs who luck out every now and then.”

  “Jeez, now I feel even worse than I already did about stealing your captures,” Arrow says.

  “You should,” I reply, somewhat bitterly. “We busted our asses hunting down those thugs, and you and Machete just swooped in at the last second and stole from us. It sucked what you guys did.”

  “I know, and I can’t apologize enough.” Arrow lowers his head in shame.

  I instantly feel bad when I see how upset he is. Yes I’m still a little pissed he and Machete screwed us out of some lucrative bounties, but my feelings for him more than counteract that. I give his right hand a gentle squeeze, letting him know I forgive him.

  Arrow surprises me by leaning in for another kiss. I surprise myself when I don’t resist. Our lips meet and remain connected as we slide off the tree stump and lay in the grass. We spend the rest of the evening making out.

  It’s easily one of the best nights of my life. Right here… right now… in Arrow’s arms… all is right in the world.

  Chapter Eleven: Lance

  I’m in the middle of dreaming about taking down Rasputin single-handedly when frantic shouting jolts me awake. I crack open my crusty eyes to find Boom Boom leaning over me, shaking my shoulders.

  “Lance, wake up! Wake up!”

  I lift my head. Dorothy is lying on my chest. My back aches from sleeping on the ground. My mind is in a fog, which always happens when I’m roused out of a deep sleep, but things are starting to come back to me. We set up camp for the night and Boom Boom went for a walk. Arrow eventually went after her. I was tempted to follow as well, but Dorothy and I were talking. Since she’s still reeling from the death of her best friend, I didn’t want to be rude and ditch her. Pretty soon we grew tired and lay on the grass. I must have drifted off to sleep shortly after that. I glance over at Krystal, who’s snoring loudly on the other side of our burned-out campfire. I don’t see Arrow and Machete, though. The Moon Cruiser is gone as well.

  “What the hell?” I grumble, sitting up. Dorothy slides off my chest and jolts awake. She rubs her eyes and mumbles, “Is it morning already?”

  I look up at the sky. It’s still pretty dark, but I do detect a soft, gray light off in the distance. Dawn is slowly yet surely shedding light on the darkened world.

  “Arrow and Machete ditched us!” Boom Boom shouts in a near panic. “We’re stranded!”

  I jump up and grasp Boom Boom’s trembling shoulders. “Okay, Firecracker, calm down. You freaking out isn’t helping matters.”

  Boom Boom’s eyes are wide with fear, and her face is ghostly pale. She’s not herself. She’s been a little off the past couple days now. I have a sinking feeling I know why.

  I give Boom Boom a gentle shake. “Focus, Firecracker, focus! Where did you and Arrow go last night? Do you know where he and Machete might have gone? Maybe they just went to go get some supplies.”

  I don’t believe that, of course. I agree with Boom Boom; they deserted us. But I need her to calm down.

  My ploy doesn’t work, though. She pushes past me and screams, “I can’t believe the bastard deceived me! I poured my heart and soul out to him!”

  Boom Boom gasps and steps back, nearly stumbling over a tree root. “My God! He couldn’t have… he didn’t!”

  “He couldn’t have what?” I ask.

  Boom Boom ignores me. Instead she puts her goggles on and logs onto the internet. I can tell from the green light shining out of the sides of her lenses.

  Boom Boom bites her lip as she looks for something. A few seconds later she screams, “No… NO!!”

  I grab Boom Boom shoulders once again and lift her goggles. Her eyes are filled with tears.

  “Boom Boom, listen to me.”

  Boom Boom’s wavering eyes finally focus. I take a deep breath and calmly say, “What’s going on? I want to help you, but I can’t unless you tell me what’s wrong.”

  Boom Boom shivers, almost like she’s going through some sort of withdrawal. I’ve encountered enough drug addicts over the years to know what it looks like.

  “He hacked into our database, Lance. He logged into our database and changed the password! We’re locked out!”

  “Wait, what?!”

  Boom Boom starts rambling again. “He only pretended to care about me so he could learn the password! The lying dog!”

  Boom Boom kicks the burnt remains of our campfire, spraying a cloud of ash into the air.

  I grab Boom Boom’s shoulders for the third time. “Boom Boom, how did Arrow find out what our password was? Did you tell him?”

  Boom Boom puts her head in her hands. Buried under a series of sobs is the answer I dread.

  “Yes.”

  Now it’s my turn to get angry. “Damn it, Boom Boom! Why would you do that? We never give out the password!”

  “I know! I know I shouldn’t have, he just knew how to get it out of me… I’m sorry!”

  I struggle to contain my volcanic anger and fail miserably. “Sorry doesn’t cut it! Do you have any idea how much time and effort Dagger put into that database?”

  “I put a lot of time into it, too,” she snaps. “You didn’t contribute crap!”

  “All of that is irrelevant. The fact of the matter is you gave away our database and we’ll probably never be able to access it again!”

  I pause for a moment, then blurt out, “Did you sleep with him?”

  Boom Boom gasps at my blunt question. “Talk about something being irrelevant. That’s none of your business! Besides, what would it matter if I did? You were sleeping with Dorothy!”

  Dorothy jumps in between us. “Nothing happened, Boom Boom, I swear! We just fell asleep!”

  “And besides, Dorothy’s not a traitor like your douchebag lover,” I say. “She’d never stab us in the back like he did.”

  Dorothy steps back as Boom Boom and I continue shouting and ja
bbing our fingers in each other’s chests. The argument gets pretty heated. It only stops when Krystal gets up and hollers, “I didn’t ask for an annoying wakeup call!”

  “Sorry, Krystal, but we’ve got bigger things to worry about than you not getting enough beauty sleep. Boom Boom gave Arrow our database while they were getting their freak on in the woods, and then he and Machete ditched us!”

  Krystal grins. “You and Arrow did the nasty, Boom Boom? Nice!”

  I wave my hand in front of Krystal’s face. “Hello, Earth to Krystal! Did you not hear that last part, about Machete and Arrow flying off in the middle of the night in the Moon Cruiser, leaving us stranded in the middle of the Canadian wilderness?”

  “Holy crap!” Krystal cries. “What are we supposed to do?”

  “I guess we’ll have to hike to the nearest town and get a car.”

  “But I hate hiking!”

  Boom Boom sits on a log and lowers her head. Her body quivers as if she’s got a fever. She almost looks as bad as she did when we all got sick last spring.

  A loud gurgling noise causes me to spin around.

  Krystal pats her tummy. “I am starving! Can we at least eat before we go anywhere?”

  “Sure,” I grumble, pointing to a small sack of trail mix and dried fruit sitting next to the smoldering campfire. “Machete and Arrow were ‘kind’ enough to leave us some food.” I’m using the word ‘kind’ very loosely, of course.

  “And they did leave us our weapons and goggles,” Krystal says, patting her utility belt. “See, Arrow isn’t that bad.”

  “Yeah, he’s only a major douchebag instead of a total one,” I say.

  We all plop down on the grass and dig into our meager breakfast. It won’t last us more than two days, so I try not to eat a lot. Unfortunately, my rumbling stomach compels me to eat a bit more than I intended. Krystal, Boom Boom, and Dorothy start scarfing down as well.

  I slide on my goggles and look up the nearest settlements. I know right off the top of my head there aren’t any Sanctuaries for at least several hundred miles. I quickly find the two nearest towns. One is a hellhole called Dresden, about sixty miles northwest of our location. The other is a small Mormon settlement called Brigham Young County. That’s only 30 miles southeast of us.