Highway To Armageddon (31 page)

           
A bolt of lightning slams into the ground about 100 yards from us. A crack of
thunder follows a split-second later.

           
I grab Boom Boom’s arm. “C’mon, Firecracker, let’s wait this thing out. It’s
not over yet.”

           
We walk back into the cave. Dorothy’s still crouched down with her fingers in
her ears. She cracks open her eyes and shakily asks,” Is it gone?”

           
I nod. “Yes, we’re safe… for now.”

           
Dorothy exhales a sigh of relief. “Thank God. Those things freak me out.”

           
Boom Boom goes to check on Krystal. I take off my goggles and lay them on the
ground. I press a button on the side and a dull light emanates from the lenses,
illuminating the cave in a soft, white glow.

           
Now that we can see our surroundings I immediately wish I left us in the dark.
Thousands of creepy, crawly critters are clinging to the walls and peeking out
from all the cracks and crevices. Giant spiders as big as my fists hang from
monstrous, intricate webs. The webs are also filled with dozens of other
larger, dead insects. (I think I now know how the spider got so big.) There are
giant centipedes with hundreds of legs scurrying all over the place. And
glowing eyes peek out at us from the back. I don’t know what they are until one
of the critters runs up to us for a closer look.

           
It’s a rat.

           
Boom Boom and Dorothy scream and run over to me, clinging to my arms.

           
“Ahh! I hate rats!” Dorothy shrieks, burying her head into my chest.

           
“So do I!” Boom Boom cries. “Kill it! Kill it!”

           
I burst out laughing. “Seriously? You can stare down an army of mass-murdering
gangsters, but you see one rat and you freak out?”

           
Boom Boom slaps my arm. “Don’t make fun of us!”

           
Dorothy slaps my other arm. “Yeah. We’re girls. Rats are one of our worst
fears.”

           
“And besides, it’s not one rat. There are thousands of them.” Boom Boom points
a quivering finger at the dozen or so glowing eyes staring at us curiously.

           
I’m about to tell Boom Boom she’s exaggerating their numbers ever so slightly,
but I bite my tongue. I really don’t want to get hit again.   

           
Krystal flaps her wrist. “Y’all are crazy. Rats are harmless. I mean, yeah they
may nibble on your toes if you fall asleep…”

           
Dorothy and Boom Boom shriek again and dig their nails into my hands and neck.
I really wish Krystal would shut up.

           
“… but other than that… wait, is that… is that a giant spider?!”

           
Krystal whips out her gun and points it into the back.

           
I hold out my hands and shout, “Krystal, wait!”

           
She doesn’t hear me. “Eat lead and die, you eight-legged freak!”

           
Krystal unloads her gun. The spider scurries up its web and disappears into a
crack. The rats squeal and run into cracks as well, as do all the other bugs.

           
The bats hanging from the ceiling in the back, however, are a different story.
Hundreds of them flutter past us and explode out of the cave. I don’t know
what’s louder, the bats’ high-pitched squealing, or the girls’ screaming.
(Although to be honest, I
may
have screamed, too.)

           
The bats only take a few seconds to clear out, but the girls scream for a long
time afterwards. They finally settle down once they realize the bats are gone.

           
“Omigod, omigod, omigod, I can’t take much more of this,” Dorothy gasps, waving
her hands in front of her face. “Wild West gunfights, tornados, rats, bats… I’m
about to have a heart attack!”

           
“Shh, calm down, Dorothy. Everything’s fine now. All the bats and rats and
tornados are gone.”

           
I lead her back over to my ‘goggle lamp’ and sit down with her, rubbing her
back in an attempt to prevent her from hyperventilating. I think it works
because her breathing slows down and she stops shaking.

           
We all hunker down and wait for the storm to pass. Boom Boom keeps an eye on
the weather report and gives us periodical updates. So far it’s estimated over
50 tornados have spun off from the storm, hitting cities and towns all across
Western Canada and the central U.S. (There’s probably been way more, but since
most of the interior of the country is nothing but desert, there aren’t a lot
of people there to document them.) It’s too early for reporters to know the
exact number of casualties, but so far over 100 people have been killed and
hundreds more are wounded and missing. Thankfully the storm is nowhere near
Sanctuary 7. Harpoon hates thunderstorms with a passion.

           
Dorothy leans against my chest as I stroke her hair. We talk quietly so we
don’t make Boom Boom angry. It doesn’t matter, though. Even our whispers echo
throughout the cave.

           
Boom Boom finally stands up and walks past my goggles. The light briefly
flashes across her anguished face, giving her a ghostly appearance.

           
“What are you doing?” I ask.

           
Without turning around, Boom Boom says, “My head is killing me. I need some
air.”

           
“But the storm…”

           
“The worst of it has passed. I just checked the radar. Don’t worry about me,
I’ll be fine. Get some rest. We have a long hike tomorrow.”

           
Boom Boom steps outside and walks out of sight. The rain isn’t coming down
nearly as hard as it was, and the crackles of thunder have drastically
decreased in frequency, but I still don’t like her being outside by herself.
I’m tempted to go after her, but I don’t want to leave Dorothy. She’s still
freaked out from the tornado.

           
Krystal sprawls out on the ground behind my goggles and starts snoring. Dorothy
and I are alone.

           
“You don’t think Boom Boom is mad at us for… you know, talking… cuddling?”
Dorothy asks tentatively.

           
“If she is, she shouldn’t be,” I say bluntly. “We dated several times in the
past, and it never worked out. She’s the one who broke it off the last time. I
think she’s just upset Arrow betrayed her. I don’t know why she was shocked,
though. I’ve been saying for years the guy’s a total douche.”

           
Dorothy suddenly shivers. I pull her even closer to transfer some of my body
heat. The storm brought in a cold front behind it. I’d build a fire, but I
don’t think that would be smart to do in a cave with no ventilation.

           
“I just don’t want there to be tension between us,” Dorothy says, stifling a
yawn.

           
“Boom Boom has a lot of personal demons,” I say. “You and she actually have
more in common than you think.”

           
“How so?”

           
I bite my lip. I really shouldn’t tell her this. Boom Boom hates when it’s
brought up, which is why Krystal and I never do. But I feel like I can trust
Dorothy. I don’t quite know what it is, but there’s a certain raw innocence to
her, despite all the terrible atrocities she’s had to endure. It’s like I feel
the need to protect her from the evils of the world. I’ve never felt that way
about any other girl, not even Boom Boom. (Although to be fair, Boom Boom is
the last woman on Earth to need any protection.)

           
It’s then that I realize I’m beginning to have the same feelings for Dorothy
that I once felt for Boom Boom. I’m falling for her… hard and fast. I decide I
should try and trust her. If nothing else this will let me know if I can.

           
“Boom Boom used to be a sex slave, too,” I say.

           
“Really?” Dorothy asks, her eyes wide with shock.

           
“Yep. Uncle Dagger found her on the streets outside the slums of Chicago about
five years ago. Her pimp approached his car while he was on a mission. Dagger
was about to tell the pimp to buzz off, but then he saw Boom Boom standing off
to the side, looking way too young to be wearing her skimpy outfit. Dagger got
out of the car and made quick work of the pimp.”

           
“So what happened after that?” Dorothy asks eagerly.

           
“Well, Boom Boom wasn’t the first sex slave Dagger rescued, nor would she be
the last. Whenever he came across children or teens working the streets, he
usually killed their pimps and took the kids to a shelter. He was about to do
that with Boom Boom when one of the pimp’s thugs came up from behind and fired
several shots at his back.

Most of the shots were deflected by
Dagger’s bulletproof best, but one hit his arm. Dagger dropped his gun and fell
to the ground.”

           
Dorothy bites her nails. My story has her on the edge of her seat.

           
“Dagger turned around to find the gangbanger hovering over him, pointing a gun
at his head. A split-second later he heard Boom! Boom! At first he thought he got
shot, but then he noticed two red holes on the gangbanger’s chest. The
gangbanger spit up blood and collapsed into a dying heap. Dagger turned his
head and found Boom Boom standing off to the side, clutching his smoking gun in
her tiny, trembling hands. He decided to bring her home as payback for saving
his life.”

           
“That’s so awesome!” Dorothy exclaims.  

           
“On a side note, that’s how Boom Boom got her name, from the gunshots she
fired. Her street name was Sapphire, but Dagger hated that, for obvious
reasons.”

           
“Wow, our lives really are similar.”

           
“That’s why Boom Boom always feels compelled to help girls on the street,
especially young ones like you and Sally.”

           
Dorothy’s eyes tear up when I mention Sally. I decide not to mention her again.

           
“I’m really glad you told me that story, Lance. If Boom Boom can go through
what I did and turn out so brave and awesome, then maybe I can, too. She’s such
an inspiration.”

           
I grab Dorothy’s hands and give them a gentle squeeze. “You are brave and
awesome. Just for surviving and persevering.”

           
Dorothy leans forward and kisses me on the lips. I kiss her back. The kissing
soon turns passionate. We close our eyes and run our fingers through each
other’s hair, all the while keeping our lips pressed together. I haven’t made
out with anyone since Boom Boom and I broke up. I forgot how much I enjoyed it.

           
My eyes snap open when Dorothy tries to undo my belt. Her other hand is behind
her back, as if she’s trying to take off her blouse. Part of me wants this to
continue, but my conscience won’t allow it.

           
I back away and pull Dorothy’s hand off of my buckle. She slowly opens her eyes
and frowns.

           
“What’s wrong, Lance?”

           
“I… I’m sorry, Dorothy. I really like you… a lot… but this is all wrong. We’ve
moving way too fast.”

           
Dorothy looks confused. “But I thought all guys like this.”

           
Now I’m
really
glad I stopped things. She’s only doing this because Big
Daddy brainwashed her into thinking all guys were like him… a sleazy, perverted
scumbag.

           
“No, Dorothy. That part of your life is over. You deserve a good guy who
respects you, who likes you for the person you are inside, not what you are on
the outside. This is not how normal relationships work. How about we take
things a bit slower?”

           
A smile slowly materializes across Dorothy’s lips.

           
“I’d like that. I’d like that a lot.”

           
“Good,” I say, smiling back. I hold out my arm and she snuggles against my
chest. We both lay on the wet blanket and close our eyes. Moments later she’s
asleep.

           
I don’t move for quite some time because I don’t want to disrupt her. I try to
fall asleep, too, but my mind won’t stop racing. I keep thinking about so many
things… our insane mission to hunt down Mikhail, Arrow and Machete ditching us,
the prospect of war between China and the U.S., the hit Caesar put out on us,
how much I miss Dagger, how much I miss my parents, whether Blade and Harpoon
are behaving for Ms. Madison and Beverly, and whether or not Boom Boom will
ever overcome her addiction… an addiction she still doesn’t think I know about.

           
After a while I begin to get concerned that Boom Boom hasn’t returned from her
walk. I slide out from under Dorothy and lower her head onto the blanket. Then
I check the time on my goggles. She’s been gone for well over an hour. I’d
better go look for her. 

           
I step outside, side-stepping all the tree limbs the tornado dumped in front of
the cave. The rain is now just a light drizzle, but the ground is soggy. My
boots sink into the mud every time I take a step. The dark clouds have started
to move out, allowing moonlight to filter through the cracks. The twister is
long gone, but its path of annihilation remains.