Velvet Dogma

chapter 26



Running as fast as they could, Rebecca and Andy couldn't keep up with the Day Eaters whose loping gait ate up the loose dirt path in front of them. The fresh dirt of the tunnel gave way to concrete, and as they passed a needle-shaped construction machine with its halogen lights pointing the way they'd come, Rebecca saw how'd they'd moved the earth beneath her prison—some kind of underground earthmover capable of creating burrows and tunnels.

But they passed this and kept going, deeper beneath the city where the subways used to run. Over cracked cement, and across great spans of cobblestone floor, with Rebecca struggling to keep up. Twice she fell, waving Andy off and getting back to her feet herself. After twenty minutes the two rag-clad men generously paused for a rest at an abandoned subway turnaround, a single rail continuing into the earth like the spine of some great beast. Rebecca and Andy fell to their knees, gasping for breath.

When Rebecca had recovered enough to speak, she asked Andy, "Did you hear what she said?"

"She killed David." Andy accepted the water passed to him from a Day Eater, took a drink, and passed it on to Rebecca. As she drank, he continued, "She was after you from the beginning. The Black Hearts. The police." He shook his head. "She even tried to make you believe I was after you."

Rebecca finished and passed back the water flask. She shrugged as she spoke. "She manipulated me well. I'm sorry Andy. I should have believed you in the first place."

"I don't know about that. She was good at what she did."

"Did you hear what it was about? Organs. She wanted my organs for her father." Rebecca rubbed her eyes. "I hate this world, Andy. I hate the fact that our bodies don't belong to us."

"Maybe we can change all of that, Bec."

She didn't reply just peeled back the bandage on her hand.

"Let me take a look at that." Andy got the water back and doused the wound liberally, cleaning away debris that had found its way past the bandage barrier. Rebecca hissed as the liquid hit the wound and made it throb all over again. When he was satisfied, he rewrapped her hand. "We need to get this taken care of when we get there."

"Where's there? You haven't told me where we're going. Don't we have Panchet to save?"

Andy grinned. "Panchet doesn't need saving."

"Why were we looking for him, then?"

"We wanted the police to think that he'd gone missing and that we didn't know where he was. Truth be told, he left for Mammoth Cave three days ago to put the finishing touches on the hardware. We needed to confuse the powers that be. The last thing we needed is for them to find out about Mammoth Cave."

"And you didn't tell me because—"

"You had enough stuff to deal with already. Plus you would have found out when we got there anyway."

"You still haven't told me where there is."

"Haven't you guessed? We're going to Mammoth Cave."

"When?"

"Now." He gestured at the two Day Eaters, "Abraham is the one who organized your rescue. We had two dozen fighters up top and these guys down below for Plan B. The police had you for three days. We didn't know what they were doing to you. Abraham was a worried mess, let me tell you."

"Did you say days?" Rebecca shook her head. "Kumi told me I was in there for weeks."

"Naw. Three days. Do you think I would have let them keep you for so long without me trying to get in there?" He cupped her cheek in his palm. "I couldn't have waited one more day."

"Kumi played everyone. She told me she wanted to know about Abraham, but that was for the police, I suspect. Just like reintroducing me into society she needed a valid legal reason to be with me, to be around me. What she really wanted was the opportunity to take me apart so she could save her daddy. The more I think of it, the more it pisses me off."

He placed his hand on her cheek. "Then don't think about it."

She shrugged Andy's hand off. "I have to. It helps me concentrate. The responsibility for David's death is squarely on my shoulders and I need to find a way to square it." But even as she said the words, she knew she'd never find a way. They were just words. Well meant, but still words. Changing the subject she asked, "Where's Abraham?"

"He went underground as soon as they caught you, but he's been in full coordination the whole time. I give him full credit for your rescue. He's really a brilliant mind."

The Day Eaters let them know that it was time to move out. Grudgingly, Rebecca and Andy got to their feet and trudged after them. Her hand hurt like the devil, but she wasn't about to complain. The chase was almost over. All they had to do was get to Mammoth Cave and she'd be left to her own devices, constructing methods to bring Velvet Dogma home. She looked forward to it. Everything she'd done up until now she'd done as a fish out of water. Except for hacking, which was the reason they'd locked her up in the first place. What they'd done to her world in her absence was absolutely criminal. All she wanted was the chance to change everything, and if she couldn't change it, she'd do the next best thing. She'd break it. What she'd created those lonely nights twenty years ago would be the weapon of the world's destruction.

As she walked, she planned, ideas forming in her mind.

An hour later the path inclined towards the surface. They scrambled up the slope, then crawled through the broken wall of a basement. The room on the other side had been cleared except for a low slung sofa and several hundred bottles of water. The two Day Eaters grabbed water and plopped down on the sofa.

Rebecca looked up the rickety wooden stairs to a door at the top. Light seeped from beneath it. She could hear the sound of someone walking across the floor overhead, kitchen sounds of dishes kissing dishes and the tinny background jingle of an old stereo playing school music.

She caught the eye of one of the Day Eaters. He jerked his head towards the stairs. Rebecca shrugged and began climbing. At the top she pressed her ear to the door, trying to hear who was making noise. The last thing she needed was to walk right into a trap set by the police.

Suddenly the door opened and Rebecca found herself face-to-face with a veiled woman. The other's eyes widened in surprise, but instead of screaming or slamming the door, the woman reached out and tried to throw her arms around Rebecca's neck. But Rebecca blocked them, shifting into a defensive stance. The other woman merely laughed and lowered her veil.

"Rebecca. Don't hit me."

Maria! Rebecca had been too surprised to recognize the woman's kohl-lined eyes. Rebecca grinned and held out her hands, and Maria pulled her up the last step and into her embrace.

"So good to see you." She examined Rebecca, tsking at the dirty clothes and bruises. "They didn't hurt you, did they? What's this?"

Rebecca gasped as the other woman gripped her hand. Maria frowned and unwrapped the bandage, then her eyes widened. "What have you done? This needs medical attention right away!"

She pulled Rebecca into the kitchen and placed her hand over the sink. Maria ran the water, checked the temperature, then began to wash the wound. Even with her delicate touch, a sizzle of pain radiated up Rebecca's arm making her grind her teeth to keep from crying out.

Andy came over to the sink and watched, but Maria ignored him while she cleaned the wound. "Where's Abraham?" he finally asked.

"I'm here." A muscular Day Eater pushed a baby carriage from the living room into the kitchen. Abraham lay propped up on the back edge with the aid of pillows.

"Abraham!" Both Andy and Rebecca said the name simultaneously.

"Glad to see you made it, Rebecca. We were worried for you."

Pulling her hand away from Maria, Rebecca rushed to Abraham and knelt down beside him. She kissed him on the cheek before he had the chance to refuse. "Thank you for saving me, Abraham. I don't know how I'll ever repay you."

"Change the world and save us all," he said simply.

"You say it like it's such an easy thing to do."

"For you, I believe it is."

"I'm glad you believe in me. I wish I shared your dream."

"Don't you? Just wait. You'll see, things won't be as hard as you think they are."

"You say it like you've already seen it happen."

"Abraham is a prophet," the Day Eater pushing the cart interrupted. "If he says it is so, then it is true."

Rebecca appraised the limbless man and his broad, bright smile. A prophet? Could he tell the future?

As if to answer her unspoken question, Abraham shook his head. "Don't worry about that. I am many things to many people. To you, I am a friend. To others, I am more of a father. To still others, I am magic."

Rebecca smiled and bowed her head in acknowledgement of the friendship. "You are a friend to me as well, Abraham."

"Good. Then before we send you off to your destiny, let me give you something that only I can give you."

She nodded, although she had no idea what it could be. The Day Eater who'd called Abraham a prophet reached beneath the carriage and brought out an oblong wooden box. With a nod from Abraham, he handed it to Rebecca. As she took it, she noted how light it was.

"Go ahead, open it."

She stared at the small ruined man for a long moment, then unlatched the box and opened it. A syringe containing a bright yellow substance lay upon a piece of black velvet. Oh my God. "Is this what I think it is?"

"It is."

"What am I supposed to do with it?"

"Whatever you want."

She set the box on the floor and picked up the syringe. She brought it to eye level and watched as the light caught the yellow swirls. "Does it hurt?"

"Not at all. It is virtually undetectable during initial contamination and takes seventy-two hours to become active."

Andy hissed from behind her, "What are you doing? You can't be serious, Rebecca."

She turned to look at him, but Abraham spoke for her. "She can do whatever she wants, Andy."

"But she might—"

"Inject herself? Protest?" His pleasant visage melted into an angry scowl. "What does it matter to you? The fact that you love her doesn't allow you to control her."

"I know she can, but—"

Abraham growled and gestured so hard with his head that his body almost fell over. "Who am I? Look at me and tell me what you see."

Andy struggled to say something, but couldn't make his mouth work. Rebecca felt sorry for him. He meant well. He loved her, but he didn't know what to do. Hell, she was no better. She wanted to say something to help him, but Abraham noted her interest.

"Rebecca wants me to shut up, so I will, but not until after I say this to you, Andy. Now pay close attention, because this is the most important thing you will ever hear." Abraham paused to let his words sink in, then continued. "I am a living example to my people of what protest is. I am the extreme. Look at lovely Maria over there. She is the other extreme. If we aren't beauty and the beast, then I don't know who is." He gazed fixedly at Andy. "Now this part is about you, Andy. Rebecca might not take this choice because she's afraid of how you'll feel about her. She's like any other girl—she wants to be loved and wants to be that woman you want her to be. So you need to decide what woman that is. You need to decide if you'll love her regardless of what she does, for to do anything else makes you a selfish, selfish man."

"I don't want to be a selfish man," Andy said, his voice carefully modulated. He glanced at Rebecca, grinned half-heartedly, then resumed staring at the floor.

"No, you don't." Abraham cleared his throat then, and addressed Rebecca. "Sorry about that. Personal choice is very important to me. Without it, I wouldn't be the man I am today. Andy's good at heart and listens well. You two will do just fine."

She couldn't think of an appropriate answer, so she took her time placing the syringe back into the box. She closed it, and stood. "I'm going to hang onto this awhile." She patted the box. "Thank you, Abraham. Thank you, Maria. I can't tell you what your friendship has meant to me."

Maria slipped over and put her arms around Rebecca. She whispered in her ear, words more powerful than any she'd yet said. "You're welcome any time. I am your sister. Abraham is your brother. We are your family."

Rebecca stared into the woman's eyes, then buried her face in the fabric on Maria's shoulder, inhaling the scent of vanilla perfume and the wholesomeness of the woman who wore it. She loved these people. When this was all over she wanted to come back. She wanted this feeling of family to be more than a feeling. She wanted it to be real. She wanted to belong.

They spent two more hours in the home, which was one of the safe houses used by the Day Eaters when they found it necessary to spend time above ground. Maria applied some healing gel to Rebecca's hand, the same stuff that had been put on Rebecca's wounds after the crash to make her think so much time had passed because the wounds had healed. Her hand needed at least a full day, but she could already begin to see the difference. Her skin didn't burn anymore when open to the air. A thin layer of skin was already forming over the wound. She imagined a time lapse photographic view as the wound healed, layer by layer, until the hand seemed as if it had never been burned at all.

While she spent the time with Maria, Andy spent the time on a secure POD connection, the gravBoarder servers hopping the communications from board to board so that no one could trace them. By the time he was done, he'd arranged for everything, including first class transportation to the hills of Kentucky.

The only other time Rebecca had been on a jet was when she'd traveled to New York to visit Columbia University. She'd won a scholarship, but had never been outside of California before. She'd almost lost her nerve, but her grandma had made her go. The trip had been a disaster. Everything that could have gone wrong did. By the time she'd returned, she not only didn't want to ever see New York City again, she never wanted to fly on a plane. Her grandma had called it a self-fulfilling prophecy, but how could Rebecca self-fulfill a hard landing, a pick pocket, a Taxi crash, an overbooked hotel where she was forced to spend the night awake in an all night diner, and food poisoning that left her doubled over in cramps? How could she self-fulfill a case of mistaken identity where the representatives of Columbia had believed she was as a double-quota minority Asian from Hacienda Heights? There was nothing self-fulfilling about it, just plain bad luck.

Now for the second time in her life she was going to head east aboard a plane to a possible promising future. Through Andy's connections in Velvet Dogma, they were able to transfer enough funds to purchase time on a private jet. Since air travel was automated now, they had to check the schedules for something available. They managed to book passage on an eastbound multi-parcel commercial jet carrying west coast lungs bound for European chests.