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| The Return of the Gov'na part two |
She was woken up by TK and Matt. "It's 9 o' clock," Matt said. "Get up, sluggard." Mimi sat up and rubbed her eyes. TK sat next to her. "Here, we had a battle. And I beat Matt by one Plastic Surgery Victim!" "Only because I ran out of ammo." Mimi yawned. "I don't care. Where'd Tai go?" "Upstairs somewhere," TK said. "He went with Trent, and he hasn't slept all day." "Have you seen Aiden and Alec?" Matt asked. "They are brothers of Amy Lee." "Who's Amy Lee?" asked Mimi. "The daughter of Nikki Sixx." "And how is that possible?" "Just pretend. Anyway, word came to New York City that Tai needed help from his Cowboys." "It was Kate Hudson," TK said. "She can read thoughts and desires. Now why didn't we wish for our own people to come?" Matt stared out the window. "Because I didn't think they'd come. They are already fighting their own battle." Sora shivered. The tunnel was dark and dank. She decided the best way to get through would be to go back I-80 West, because both sides of the Insterstate follow each other anway. She stood in the entrance of the tunnel and looked at what she saw not so long ago. Her tongue still hurt from the bar poking through it. But as soon as she stepped into the sunlight, Sora took the Tongue Ring out. She didn't feel safe wearing it so close to where its master lived. It seemed strangely heavy in her pocket. She could feel it tempting her, but she knew there was no way she could believe the fantasies of power the Tongue Ring offered her. There was a tower standing on a hill not far ahead. That must be Pequop, she thought. They're bringing Kat there. She ran into the tower. Literally. Sora picked herself up and brushed the dirt off her jeans. Then she took a step to the left and ran through the doorway. Beep beep beep beep! "Oh shit," she said, trying to hide in the shadows. "I've set the alarm off. Wonderful." But no one came and the alarm shut off. Sora continued on her walk down the hall. She noticed dead bodies of Plastic Surgery Victims all over the floor. He said the top tower, she told herself. Now, where is it? A curvy staircase was right ahead of her. Sora started up the stone steps. She climbed up and around, and up some more until she started to get dizzy. And then she was at the top. Mimi, TK, and Matt went to have breakfast with Davis. "Sorry it's not like my place in Laramie," Davis said to Mimi. "And your friend's not here, but anyway. You can ride with me when we leave." "Really?" she said. "I don't think I'm being very helpful to anyone, but I'd like something to do around here." "I have a little bike for you," he said. "Can you drive a clutch?" "I can learn." "Good. You can be my righthand man--er, girl. Hey Cody!" he yelled to Cody. "Do we have an extra gun?" "Oh, I have my own," Mimi said. She took it out. "Um ... can I, like, work for you, then, because I really want to do something." "Ah. OK." They ate for a little while, then Cody spoke to Davis. "Shall we get ready to leave yet? And where is Tai? He didn't eat." "We can get ready," Davis said. "And someone find that boy!" When they were finally ready to go to Laramie, Tai called Davis aside. "Me and my Cowboys need to take a different road," he said. "What the hell for?" "I need to go down Dead Man's Lane." "Did you even think about why it's named that?" "That's too bad," said Cody. "I was hoping we could ride to war together." "Well," said Davis to Tai. "Do whatever you want. I don't know why you think you need to go that way, but ... whatever." Tai called to Matt and TK, who would also go with him. "Good-bye, Mimi," he said. "I leave you in good hands." Mimi was stunned. She was going to now travel with a bunch of strangers while her friends rode to their ... deaths, apparantly. "Uh ... bye." Then the people from Wyoming drove off, Mimi by the Governor's side. "That's too bad," said Tai. "I think I liked her the best of those Mainens." Trent came up beside him. "They have no idea what we do to keep their borders safe." Tai turned to Matt and TK. "I'm famished, and I need to talk to you, so let's do that while I eat." They went back inside Muddy Gap and Matt and TK watched Tai eat. Matt was getting impatient. "So? What has happened?" Tai took another bite. "I looked in the Magic 8 Ball." TK was shocked. "What?! Even Joe was afraid of that." "And what are you so afraid of? What I'd say to Him? You forgot one thing--I'm Taichi. I own the Magic 8 Ball, so why shouldn't I use it?" "You ... own it?" asked Matt. "Sure. But all He did was look at me. I didn't say anything. I showed Him my Superglued Knife and he now knows that the heir of Tai-pei is alive." "So why are we taking Dead Man's Lane?" asked TK. "You don't want Him to know you're alive?" "He's suicidal," remarked Matt. "Tai, this isn't the answer. There are better things for you out there. We may not act like it, but there are some people who love you." "I can go through there," said Tai. "I am the heir of Tai-pei. Besides, Aiden and Alec told me that Nikki Sixx told them to tell me that I should go that way." "But that goes through Idaho. What could possible be over there?" asked TK. "Potato farmers. Tai-pei went over there once to buy some potatoes, but they wouldn't give him any. 'You're not good enough for our potatoes,' they said to him. Tai-pei couldn't go without a good baked potato supreme for more than a week, and he got mad. 'Curse you filth!' he said to them. 'You're sending potatoes to Him, aren't you? Someday you will have part in this war, and you will not die until the heir of Tai-pei comes to you for help and you will help him!' So I'm hoping they'll fight with us." Matt looked dumbfounded. "You know how many things are wrong with that story? They'd just be really old potato farmers by now. What good can they be in a war if they need other people to feed them and wipe their ass?" "We'll see about that." Bear took Kari to the break room, where some police officers were having a short coffee break. "Hey, you're Joe's friend, aren't you?" one asked Kari. "Yeah," the second said. "We've heard about your kind." Kari sat down and they talked for a while. Bear stood up five minutes later. "I have to go," he said. "But if you're lonely, you can find my son. He can show you around the city. Him and his friends usually hang out at the Old Outhouse. Anyone in town could tell you where it was." And with that, he left. The other police officers soon followed. "Well," said Kari to herself. "I seem to have two choices: go back to the hotel and study these stupid codes, or find some guys to kick it with." She jumped up and went outside, hoping there was a taxi she could flag down. One stopped and took her to the Old Outhouse. Kari got out and noticed a group of about six teenage boys standing next to a large shed, playing music and smoking. One noticed her and watched as she walked up to them. "Where'r you from?" he asked. The other boys turned to look at Kari. "Maine," she asnwered uneasily. "I just ... moved here, I guess you could say. And now I'm a police officer, which is crazy." The boy snorted. "A cop, huh? If you're a cop, then I'm an astronaut." "Oh, he is." Another boy winked at her. Smokin' more than tobacco, he was. "Why are you here?" the first boy asked. "You want a fight?" "Huh? No. I'm looking for ... oh shit. He never told me his son's name." Kari searched her head. "Any of you have a dad named Bear?" The first boy snuffed out his joint with his Chuck Taylors. "I see you've been smokin' the Wacky Tobaccy too. You're not a cop, but you've met one because you're a naughty girl." "Not really. Joe seems to think I'm stupid, but then he lets me wander around a big city by myself. Anyway, is Bear your dad?" "Who wants to know?" "Uh ... I do. But you look like him--" "Then why'd you ask?" "Oh, fuck this." Kari turned and started to walk away. Bear's kid stuck out his hand and grabbed her sweatshirt hood. "Aw, we're just playin'. What's your name?" Kari turned around. "Kari. And you're ... ?" "River. How do you know Bear?" "I work with him. Don't give me that smirk; I'm serious. He even gave me this." She held up the codebook she had in her sweatshirt pocket. "He's makin' me do homework on my vacation. Oh, and he told me to find you." "Why? He's not sending me to Ma, is he? Cuz I don't need to go. Does he know we're smoking?" "Ah ... no, I don't think so. He just told me if I wanted someone to hang out with, I could hang with you guys. The only person I know here is always busy because he's a Nerd." River looked at his friends. "Just as long as you don't rat us out." "Only if you let me have a joint." River grinned. "You're pretty cool after all. Come on, we were just going to throw things at cars on the freeway." "OK." Kari followed them to the alley where a big boat of an old car was parked. She squeezed in the backseat with them, and they drove off. River turned around from the front passenger seat. "So, how old are you?" "16." "You don't say. We're all 15 here." "And you have licenses?" "Absolutely not." "Oh ... k." They drove to a bridge over the freeway and leaned over the railing. "Not too many people drive through here anymore," River said. They stood there for a while, smoking and talking and loitering. After an hour, River grabbed her arm. "Come on, we have to go." Everyone piled in the old car again and drove back to the city. |