Renegade World: Future Past (34 page)

She took his hand, and he slowly pulled her. “Stop!” As she
took a deep breath, she hooked her backpack with her right foot. “OK. Slowly.”
He pulled her up and out. The backpack tumbled onto the ground when they stood
her up. As she stood, leaning against the door, she looked back and saw the
drying pool of blood where she had been sitting. The two deputies took their
eyes off her as the ambulance pulled up, and she shifted her weight against the
door to make it close.
I don’t need them to see all that blood.
She
zipped up her sweat jacket to hide the almost healed gash over her ribs.

Deputy Billings moved so that she couldn’t see them pull her
dad out. “How are you feeling?” His eyes widened. “Miss…I met you before didn’t
I?”

She saw her father being carried up to the ambulance. He
wasn’t moving. She bit her cheek and then took a deep breath to keep from
crying. “Tower City. This was another murder attempt just like that one.”

“What makes you say that?”

“The truck deliberately hit us despite evasive action by my
dad.” Her mouth was suddenly very dry. “Do you have water?”

“Sure. Are you up to walking to the car?”

“Yes, but could you carry my backpack for me?”

As she slowly walked to the car, supported by the deputy,
she saw no sign of the truck or its trailers. He opened the back door of the
patrol car, and she sat down. “Ouch.” She took a deep breath and leaned back.
“My ribs are a little sore.” She took her backpack from him.

He opened the trunk and pulled a bottle of water out of a
cooler. “Here you go.” He handed her the bottle. As she guzzled the water, he
said, “Naamah Schmidt, correct?”

She finished off the bottle. “Yes.” She rubbed her temples.
“Could I get another bottle of water?” She shivered. “And a blanket too, if
you’ve got one.”

As he covered her with a blanket, two more ambulances
pulled up. “I’m going to get one of the EMTs to look at you.”

S
amael paced back and forth by the windows overlooking
his pool. His mistress, topless as usual, waved at him from her chaise lounge
chair. Other than a brief nod, he ignored her and continued pacing as he
watched the video. He held his breath as Deputy Billings car pulled off the
road. When he saw the wrecked SUV through the deputy’s body cam, he exhaled.
Now
that looks promising.
The video bounced up and down as the deputy climbed
down the embankment.

He screamed and threw one
of the leather armchairs through the nearest window.
Why won’t she die?
His mistress sat up when she heard the crash, but she
lay back down after she saw the broken chair amid the shattered glass. Broken
chairs were one of his trademarks.

“Get me Leandro.”

Leandro here. Wha—

“Go back and kill that
abominable girl!”

I’m already in Valley City.

“I don’t care. Move! Now!” He disconnected.

T
he flashing lights were still keeping up with him.
He
might be crazier than me
. At 120 mph, he was outrunning even his custom
high beams.

“Implant, connect me to Karl.”

“Karl.”

Yes, Jake.

“I’m five minutes behind Naami, but I’m not making up much
time, and I’ve got a patrol car chasing me. Can you pull some strings to get
them off me?”

I’ll try.
The connection dropped.

A few minutes later Jake saw a connection request from
Trooper Mika Young. “Jake Stahl.”

You’ve got connections in high places, Mr. Stahl.
Her
voice was melodic with a teasing edge.

Luckily. “
I just want to make sure that the girl
gets home safely.”

What? You don’t think we locals are up to the task?
Now
she sounded sassy bordering on annoyed.

“No disrespect, Trooper Young, but did you hear about the
Tower City shootout last spring.”

Yes.

“Well, the girl was one of their targets.”

OK. You have my attention. You wouldn’t be the shooter
that took them out, would you?

“Not me.” He heard her radio squawk as he received a
message from Naami. “Trooper, the patrol car was just run off the road.” He
took manual control of the car and accelerated.

N
ot again!

The deputy yelled, “Hang on,” as he swerved off the road.
The patrol car slid down the gravel embankment, through a barbed wire fence,
and into a cornfield. About twenty rows in, the car plowed into a mound of
softer dirt and came to a sudden stop.

“Deputy, we need to get out of here and hide!”

“It was probably just a drunk driver.”

“You want to take a chance on another Tower City shootout?”

“Good point.” He climbed out and opened her door. “I can’t
see anything here.” The sky was completely dark; no stars were visible.

She took his hand. “Follow me.” She led him down the other
side of the mound and then pulled him through twelve rows of corn before
turning left between rows.

 “How can you see anything?”

“I can’t,” she lied. “I’m going by feel. Quiet now.” She
led him around in a circle across four other rows before intersecting with
their original path. “Walk backward now.” They backed through five rows before
she turned and led him another hundred paces between the rows.
Abraham,
advise Jake on our location, and stay connected with him. Bump amplification
thirty percent.

She crouched down and listened.
Someone’s by the car.
Cupping the deputy’s ear, she whispered, “Someone or something is moving out
there. Don’t talk or even whisper.” He drew his gun.

She heard corn stalks rustling and a car door being
opened.  The door shut followed by a loud snarl that tailed off into a hiss.
Almost
like a snarl of frustration.
Corn stalks rustled closer to them.
Coming
right at us.
She saw no lights.
Our stalker must have thermal vision.
The wind blew from the direction of their stalker, and she sniffed.
Male,
but he smells different than any man I’ve smelled before.

The wind gusted, and she caught a new scent.  
Not a dog,
but similar. Whatever it is, it’s more cautious than the man.
The hairs on
her neck rose.
I’ve lost it.

Naami, I can turn up the amplification more, but gunfire
is going to hurt. I can’t dampen it fast enough.

Turn it up slowly and pause every second for a second.

The deputy racked his slide, and the rustling from ahead of
them sped up.
Not a good move.
She finally heard the second stalker
again, loping towards them, barely disturbing the corn.
Hold the
amplification.

She saw movement ten yards ahead of them just before the
figure sprang at them. As she knocked the unsuspecting deputy through the next
row of corn, she thought,
Two legged, male, and definitely enhanced. No
goggles.
Rolling up to her feet, she waited in a fighting stance as the
figure turned and snarled.
He underestimated my reflexes, but he’s faster
than me in my weakened condition.

The figure snarled again, and she saw his oversized upper
canines.  The deputy yelled, “Police! Stop right there!” The figure took a step
towards them, and the deputy fired twice but missed.

Ignoring the deputy, the attacker leaped directly at her.
At the apex of the leap, a bounding wolf-like creature crashed into him, large
teeth locking onto his arm. The wolf’s momentum pushed them through the rows of
corn. They tumbled down together, snarling and howling.

She grabbed the deputy’s hand, and they ran back towards
the car.
It sounds like one of them is chasing the other.

Naami, we heard shots. Where are you?
She saw Jake’s
light up ahead.

Shine the light ten degrees left, and you’ve got us.

As she approached Jake, who was holding a short barrel rifle,
she said, “Nice to see you again, Jake.”

The trooper next to Jake motioned out into the darkness
with her shotgun.  “Who were you shooting at, deputy?”

“It was too dark for me to get a good look. The s.o.b. came
after us with his bare hands. I’ve never seen anyone move that fast.”

“Did you get him?” asked Jake.

“I don’t think so, but an animal did…I think.”

“An animal?” asked the trooper.

Deputy Billings said, “I only saw it for an instant as it
attacked the guy, and then they both crashed down out of my sight. It was dark,
so I didn’t get much of a look, but it was like a large malamute or wolf.” He
looked at Naami for confirmation.

She nodded. “A huge wolf was what I was thinking.”
Not a
wolf, but that smell seems familiar somehow.

Jake shook his head. “This is too weird even for me. Let’s
get out of here.” He looked at the trooper. “Trooper Young, we’re leaving.  I—“

“I’m with him,” said Deputy Billings. “Let’s get the heck
out of here. We can have a team out here at daybreak.”

Trooper Young shrugged. “OK by me. We can wait in my car
until the tow trucks get here to tow the two cars.”

“Two cars?” asked the deputy.

The trooper winked at Jake. “Yeah. Maybe wonder dog drove
the second car.”

Wouldn’t she be surprised if she was right?
Naami
followed Jake up the embankment.

The front doors of Jake’s black SUV opened, and she slid
into the passenger seat. “A Model X? I would have thought you’d go in for
something a little more modern.”

Jake smiled as he floored it
. Naami, it hit sixty in 2.5
seconds.

“Not quite stock, eh Jake?”

He smiled. “It was stock when I bought it, but not
anymore.” He glanced over at her, his smile disappearing. “You’ve been through
a lot. How are you holding up?”

“I’ll let you know when we get to the hospital.” She closed
her eyes and tried to believe that her dad wasn’t already dead, but she failed.

“Karl Hunter called just before we found you. He said to
tell you that he and Dr. Rebeka Lee Johnson just got to the hospital. We’ll be
there in less than ten minutes.”

Rebeka Lee’s there. That’s good…at least for Mom and
Raul.
She stayed silent, afraid that
she wouldn’t hold herself together if she tried to talk.

When Jake pulled up to the emergency entrance, Karl Hunter
was waiting. She looked at his face and slumped back in her seat, suddenly more
tired than she had every felt in her life as if all of the energy had suddenly
been drained from her body. The doors opened, but she couldn’t even unbuckle
her seatbelt. Jake got out and walked around to her. He knelt down, gently
squeezed her shoulder, and then unbuckled her seatbelt. He stood up and took a
step back. She tried to make herself get out of the car, but she couldn’t.

“Take your time, Naami.” He knelt back down. “Just nod when
you’re ready, and I’ll give you a hand.”

She closed her eyes.
It’s not fair! God, he was a good
man…the best dad.
Hundreds of memories of sitting next to him in church,
saying prayers with her, and him tucking her into bed flew through her
thoughts. Then came memories of him making her yogurt shakes. 
I’ll be sad
every night and every time I eat my favorite food.
She recalled the
memories of him teaching her how to read and how to count.
I asked so many
questions, and he was so patient and giving.
She recalled the long walks
with him where she counted the squares of the sidewalk, first by ones, then by
twos, and all the way up to tens.

She took a deep breath and blew it out
. And it’s my
fault he’s dead. If I would have continued homeschooling like Mom wanted me to,
and if I wouldn’t have ever shown off, he’d be alive.

Naami, you don’t know that. You didn’t kill him. The
attacker who ran you off the road likely killed your dad. You did nothing to
him to cause him to kill your dad.

You’re right that the human-like creature killed Dad.
But if I had kept a low profile, he would never have come after me, and my dad
would still be alive. This is the fourth time someone has tried to kill me.
What did I ever do to them?
She felt her energy level shoot up.
I will
find out who wants me dead and make them pay!

She opened her eyes and nodded. Jake gave her a hand. As
they walked toward Karl, she said, “I want to thank you both. Now, I want to
see my dad.” She saw Karl observing her, struggling to find the words. “I know
he’s dead. I just need to say goodbye.”

Karl blew out his breath. “Naami, I’m so very sorry, but
are you—“

“I’m sure. Lead the way.”

Jake squeezed her hand. She looked up and saw that his eyes
were teary.
Don’t say anything, Jake, or I’ll break into tears that won’t
stop.
She looked away as she squeezed his hand back.

Rebeka Lee met them in the hallway. Before she could say
anything, Naami hugged her cousin and buried her face into her chest. She felt
Rebeka Lee stroking her hair.

Rebeca Lee cleared her throat. “Raul and your mom are going
to be fine.”

“I want to see my dad now. Then, I’ll see my mom and Raul.”

“OK. I’ve got to warn you that your mom’s not responsive
right now. Maybe she’ll respond to you. I don’t know.”

“Call Dr. Shemesh. Check with Gran if you want another
opinion, but in my opinion, without his help, she might not have made it after
the house fire.” She stepped back. “I knew all about Mom’s breakdown.”

Rebeka Lee nodded. “How about you? Are you OK?”

Physically, mentally, or emotionally?
She wasn’t
sure herself so she simply shrugged. “You can check me out after I see Dad and
Raul.”

“OK. I’ll take you to your dad. Do you want me to come in?”

“No.” She realized that her answer had been a little sharp.
Softer, she said, “I need to spend a couple of minutes saying goodbye.”

Rebeka Lee led her to the room, stopped, and gave her a
long hug. “He was a wonderful man, and I’ll never forget him.”