Off the Wagon (Users #2) (14 page)

He didn’t even bother with the guys he saw selling weed or other small time drugs. While he wasn’t exactly excited for them, Carter didn’t consider weed or mushrooms to be of any real harm to the city, so he left those guys to go about their business.

“So what have you been doing out here night after night?” Barber asked.

“Honestly? Sometimes nothing. Sometimes I just come out and sit on a rooftop in the rain. Other times I stop a car jacking or a robbery. There’s more to crime in this city than just drugs.” Carter leaned up against the wall and stretched his legs.

“Well it seems like all you focus on at times,” Barber said.

“Drugs have had a hugely negative effect on my life. I’m either doing them, or I’m fighting against them. Either way, its a war,” Carter said. “I’ve tried to ignore them in the past, but that just feeds my demons. If I don’t face them head on, they always sneak up and bite me on the ass.”

Carter was laying his soul bare for Barber to see. He wasn’t sure if that would strengthen their relationship or scare Barber away. He hoped for the former.

*****

They returned back home from their patrol just in time for the morning exercises.

“You’re late,” Evan said as Barber and Carter hopped out of the rickety old truck.

“We arrived just in time,” Carter argued.

“Whatever,” Evan said flippantly.

Carter yawned. He was exhausted from the night’s patrol.

“Why don’t you run the drills this morning,” Carter said to Evan.

“Me? Are you serious?” Evan asked.

Everyone was lined up, nearly fifty strong, waiting not so patiently to start.

“Sure, why no-” Carter stopped mid sentence. From the corner of his eye, he could make out Barber greeting Ryker. The two men clapped hands in greeting. Ryker wore a big smile, then he laughed at something Barber said before scooting over to make room for Barber to join him in line.

“Nevermind,” Carter said. “Get back in line.”

Evan wore a puzzled expression at Carter’s sudden change of mind. But Carter wasn’t about to leave Barber alone with Ryker. Carter rubbed his weary eyes. It was going to be a long day.

Chapter 15

Something burned at Carter’s nostrils as he slept. It had a thick, pungent smell he knew well. Despite the familiarity, he awoke startled. He immediately searched the surrounding area for some sign that he had caught fire while asleep, but there was no glowing fire, just a dark room.

“Smoke?” he asked still half asleep.

He yawned, sucking in a lung full of smog. Carter coughed hard. “Smoke!”

In the darkness, he threw off his blanket and jumped out of bed.

“Fire!” Screams erupted from beyond the big house walls.

“Doc! Doc!” Carter burst out of his bedroom, into the living room, and right through Doc’s door.

“What in the hell do you think you’re doing?” the weary eyed Doc said sitting up in bed.

Much to Carter’s relief the old man was wearing his PJ’s. He cringed at the thought of what he would have just seen had Doc been one of those naked sleepers.

“Fire! We’ve gotta go!”

Carter rushed to Doc’s bedside and pulled the old man from his bed. Together, they rushed across the hardwood floor of the living room and to the dining room door. Carter grabbed the door’s handle and, with his near impervious fire protection, the heat permeating off the handle didn’t even register with him. Flames arched around the door’s edges before Carter even had the door fully opened.

“Get back!” Carter shouted as he pushed Doc behind him and took the brunt of the blazing inferno that used to be dining room.

“Quick, down the stairs,” Doc said. “Just pray the fire has not spread to the houses lower levels.” They ran down the stairs and into Doc’s office. Luckily, there was no patients occupying the hospital bed currently, and the room appeared fire free. Doc was first to exit through the office door and move out into the yard.

“Oh, no!” Doc said turning to face the house.

“What? How bad is it?” Carter asked. His head spun around to get a good look at the house. “Oh, shit!”

It was bad. Really bad. Half the big house was going up in flames. The kitchen, through the hall, and all the way into the dining room was ablaze. Fire spouted from holes burned in the roof and out the windows that had been shattered by the biting flames.

“Do something,” Doc said.

“Like what?” Carter asked.

“I’ve got this!” Ryker came seemingly out of nowhere wearing nothing, but a pair of boxer shorts. The man was even more impressive to look at in the nude. It made Carter’s blood boil, but at that moment he had bigger things to worry about. Ice shot from Ryker’s hands, turning to water in midair from the intense heat coming off the house. Ryker got right up next to the kitchen window and blasted ice into the house. Steam rose in wisps off of Ryker’s icy skin. Black smoke from the smoldering flames billowed from every opening and as quickly as it had all started, the fire was out. Within seconds, Ryker had completely put out the fire.

By now, the entirety of the Compound’s occupants had gathered on the lawn to watch Ryker put out the blaze. They cheered him on, all of them, except for Carter.

“How did this happen?” Barber asked coming up to stand next to Carter.

“I don’t know,” Carter answered. “But I’m going to find out.”

*****

The sun rose early for Carter that morning, and its shine blinded his sensitive eyes that were so accustomed to the marine layer of gray clouds that seemed to constantly hover over Seattle protecting it’s inhabitants from bright orb. The dew covered grass glistened in the sunlight, reflecting like thousands of tiny little mirrors on the ground. Doc and Carter had taken up residence in a pair of unoccupied cabins. Luckily, a couple of Users had just recently left, leaving vacancy for those displaced from the big house.

“Nice day,” Barber said. “Even if half the house is burned down.” Unfortunately for Carter, the house was one of the only objects shaded by the nearby trees and he could clearly see the burned out husk of dining room and kitchen. Red hot coals still smoldered and smoke rose in wisps from the roof.

“Very funny. You realize that’s your house right?” Carter had to squint just to make out Barber’s silhouette against the sunlight. Blinded by the sun, Carter couldn’t tell if Barber was smiling or grimacing at that moment.

“No, shit sherlock. I’ve had the house for a whole two days and you’re already trying to burn it down.”

“This isn’t funny. Someone set that fire. They could have killed me and Doc,” Carter said in all seriousness.

“Are you sure you just didn’t leave the burner on or something?” Barber asked.

“I’m sure. This was arson. That fire was intentional”

“Who would set the big house on fire?”

“I don’t know…Ryker maybe,” Carter said.

“Are you serious? Ryker? No way!” Barber shouted.

“Keep your voice down,” Carter said looking over his shoulder to make sure no one had overheard their conversation.

The rest of the Users had skipped their morning exercises, and were busy gutting out the house. They boarded up the holes that had burned through to the outside with fresh plywood. It’s bright wood was a stark contrast to the charred structure.

“It’s not so hard to believe. He is the only new person here, and we don’t know him from a hole in the wall. That can’t be a coincidence.”

“Maybe you just don’t like him?”

“What are you talking about? I like him fine. I just don’t trust him yet,” Carter lied.

Barber threw him an unconvinced look and Carter had to avert his gaze. Carter couldn’t quite put his finger on it, but there was something in the back of his mind that told him not to trust Ryker. Maybe it was his too perfect jawline or the way everyone adored him, but there was something off with the new guy.

“You don’t trust anyone,” Barber said.

“I trust you.”

“I meant besides me.”

“Point well taken.”

*****

The rest of the day had gone by uneventfully. The night had come again, and Carter sat in his cabin gazing out through the window at the big house. The Compound was eerily silent, everyone having long gone to bed. He was about to nod out sitting up, but as his head drooped ever so slightly, a shadow that was just a shade darker than the blackness around it moved next to the house.

“What the fuck?” Carter asked himself.

First someone sets fire to the big house and now someone is out sneaking around after hours. Carter threw on his sweatshirt, slowly opened the door, and silently closed it behind him. The shadow, in the silhouette of a man, rounded the corner of the big house moving in the direction of the backyard. Carter tiptoed across the yard, past the fire pit, and went flat against the side of the house like a thief in the night. He slid with his back against the wall over to the corner and poked his head out just enough to get a line of sight on the intruder.

The ominous figure stood with his hands against the side of the house and was peering in through one of the broken kitchen windows. Carter was sure it was the arsonist back to inspect his handy work, or perhaps to finish the job, but Carter wasn’t going to let him get away this time. He bolted out from around the corner with a fiery fist leading the way.

“Don’t you fucking move!” Carter roared as he closed in on his prey.

That’s when the mysterious trespasser did something Carter didn’t expect. The man held his hands up as if to calm him, but Carter barreled right through the shadowy figure, hitting him with a football tackle.

“Get the hell off of me!” the man beneath Carter said, but Carter didn’t listen.

The moon’s rays offered just enough light to let Carter know he hit the intruder right square in the face. The man’s nose crunched under his fist.

“Get up!” Carter dragged the man to his feet and threw him up against the torched wall of the house. With a flick of the wrist, a fireball appeared in his hand. The fire in his hand crackled and light flickered off of his palm.

“Ryker?” he asked, as the light illuminated the man’s face. He knew it. Ryker had been the bastard to set fire to the big house. “It was you.”

“What was me? You crazy asshole,” Ryker said with blood dripping down his upper lip and a hand on his broken nose.

“You set the fire,” Carter said.

“Set the fire? I was the one who put the fire out!”

“After me and Doc escaped!” Carter shouted. “Then you conveniently show up out of nowhere to save the day!”

“What’s going on?” Barber asked as he came running up behind Carter. “What’s all that yelling?”

Carter realized that Ryker must have looked like a cornered dog to Barber, and Carter must have looked like a real asshole.

“I caught him trying to burn down the rest of the house,” Carter said.

By now more of the lights were coming on inside the cabins. Weary eyed Users were coming out their doors, still in their pj’s, to see what all the ruckus was about.

“What are you doing out here?” Barber asked Ryker.

“Nothing, I thought I saw some smoldering coals and I came over to make sure the fire was completely out.” Their heads all turned in unison toward the house.

“I don’t see anything,” Barber said.

“I was just making sure!” Ryker exclaimed.

“In the middle of the freakin’ night?” Carter asked incredulously.

“I don’t need to explain myself to you!” Ryker pushed past Carter, bumping their shoulders together hard as he passed.

“Hey, fucker!” Carter grabbed Ryker by the shoulder and whipped him around to face him. “Don’t you walk away from me.”

“Get your hands off me!” Ryker slapped Carter’s hand away.

Carter clenched his fists.

“Back off man,” Barber said getting in between Carter and Ryker, but his comment was aimed at Carter.

“Oh, so now you’re taking his side?” Carter asked.

“I said back off!” Barber shouted and pushed Carter.

With a fiery fist, Carter punched Barber in the face, knocking him to the dew covered grass.

“Oh, god. Barber, I’m sorry,” Carter said as he reached down to help Barber back to his feet.

“Don’t touch him!” Ryker wrapped his fingers around the back of Carter’s neck and grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“You should take your own advice.” Carter arched back and to the side, bringing his elbow up to Ryker’s face.

Ryker cried in pain as Carter’s elbow blasted him in his broken nose. Ryker stumbled back, gripping his nose with one hand, and aiming his palm at Carter with the other.

“Oh, no you don’t,” Carter said lifting his own palm to Ryker in defense. Ice shot from Ryker’s hand. Fire shot from Carter’s hand. The two forces of ice and fire collided somewhere in the middle. A cloud of steam puffed where the two met as ice was melted and fire was doused out by water.

Ryker growled and pushed forward, but Carter fought back with all the heat he could force into a single hand, projecting it in a flamethrower like stream. Their fight went on for many moments with neither wanting to back down. The fight of ice power against fire power was a stalemate. The two essentially canceling each other out. Neither gained ground on the other, but nor did they lose it.