Tai was going back to the Motel 6 parking lot when he heard it. "Matt! Tai! Somebody!" Tai ran to the sound, which was Izzy. He was laying against a snow drift, many bullets pierced him, and blood was staining the snow. "Tai, I tried to take the Tongue Ring from Kat," he said slowly. "I have paid for it. But damn, it hurts." Tai knelt next to him. "The Plastic Surgery Victims have taken the two girls, but I think they're still alive." Izzy closed his eyes. "Go to Salt Lake City and save my people. I have failed." "No, you didn't," said Tai. "You have conquered these Plastic Surgery Victims here." Many lay in the snow. "Hardly. They have bad aim and shot each other." He took a last breath and did not breathe it out. "Izzy?" Tai was stunned. No way could Izzy be dead. He sighed. "The Cult is ended. And where the hell is everyone?" Matt and TK found him there, just sitting in the snow. "We shot many Plastic Surgery Victims, but we should have been here instead," said Matt. "Izzy is dead," said Tai. "I'm OK, and Mimi and Kari have been taken by Plastic Surgery Victims." "Where's Kat?" asked TK. "And Sora?" "I don't know." Tai got up. His pants were wet from the snow. "Everything I've done today is all wrong." He looked around at the bodies. "These are not all Plastic Surgery Victims; some are Liposuction Victims." They went back to the Motel 6 parking lot to find only one vehicle. "Someone's stolen the SSR!" exclaimed TK. "No, they didn't," Tai said, picking up the backpack on top of the Aviator. He looked inside. "I think Kat and Sora took it." "So ..." said Matt, "should we follow Kat and Sora, or hunt the Liposuction Victims in hopes that Mimi and Kari are still alive?" Tai thought for a minute. "Sure, I would've gone with Kat to the end, but I don't really want to leave Kari and Mimi to get tortured. So we'll hunt some Plastic Surgery Victim!" "Liposuction Victims," corrected TK, hopping in the backseat of the Aviator. "Just get in the Aviator," Tai replied. "What about Izzy?" asked Matt, climbing in the front seat. "We've stayed here too long already," said Tai, driving off the parking lot. "There are bound to be witnesses who heard the gunshots." "Where do you think they went?" asked TK. "The witnesses?" "The Liposuction Victims." "No idea. I'm just going back to I-90. What do you suppose Liposuction Victims drive?" Kari woke up later, finding herself in the trunk of a 15-passenger van. She sat up and hit her elbow on the side of the van. There wasn't much room to move. A Plastic Surgery Victim heard her bump and turned around. Most likely a botched nose job, Kari guessed. "I'd rest if I was you," he said, sneering. Kari lay back down, partly because she didn't like looking at him. I wonder where Mimi is, she thought, aching to look out the window. "Why can't we just kill them now?" asked Plastic Surgery Victim #3 (or so Kari nicknamed him). "Because one of them has something," said Plastic Surgery Victim #14. "Something for the war." "Why can't we search them ourselves?" asked Plastic Surgery Victim #6. "Because. 'No spoiling.' That's my orders. I am Liposuction Victim #1. Listen to me." So they do name themselves that way, thought Kari. "And my orders are to kill," said Plastic Surgery Victim #3. "Does Ken control Card Sharp?" questioned Plastic Surgery Victim #22. "Why should we even listen to Liposuction Victim pigs?" "I'm hungry," broke in Liposuction Victim #347. "Well, maybe if you didn't eat so much, you wouldn't be a Liposuction Victim!" shouted Plastic Surgery Victim #29. Shots rang out and blood splattered on the windows. "Here, get rid of this body," said Liposcution Victim #1. "What about the shrapnel?" said Plastic Surgery Victim #14. "Just eat him." A kidney was thrown into the trunk, and it hit Kari's leg. She winced and gagged, but put her hands to her mouth to stop from harfing. Then she noticed her wrists were tied. But very loosely. Okay, she thought, at least I know I can get my hands free easily. She very quietly took the ropes off and loosened the ropes around her ankles. Then she "tied" her wrists again and lay down, hoping to just fall asleep. Why did I ever persuade Nikki Sixx to let me come ... "Well," said Sora. "Now what?" Kat had pulled the SSR onto the shoulder of the highway and they were studying a map of Wyoming. They were headed south on highway 85, but were reluctant to get onto I-25, half a mile ahead of them. The roads had just been awful. "Let's just do it," said Sora. "It will take us through Colorado, and sure, it's a little out of the way, but I think we should listen to Tai and not touch Utah." "I suppose you're right." Kat watched the snow fly past their windows. "But then what? Do we go all the way to New Mexico or... take more highways?" "Well, we need gas soon." "We can stop in Cheyenne." "Do they have gas stations?" "Why wouldn't they?" "Because this is Wyoming." They sat there for a minute. "Have you seen that Orange Grand Am lately?" asked Sora. "No. I would hope our highway route has lost him. But I don't know. I mean, a bright yellow SSR ... ?" Kat looked behind her and steered the SSR back onto the highway. They stopped in Fort Collins, Colorado to eat a late lunch at Mickey D's. "I have to pee," said Sora when they were done eating. "Come with me." "Why?" But Sora grabbed her hand and headed for the bathroom. Kat stopped Sora and held a finger to her lips. Then she pointed to the handicapped stall at the end. Two feet were standing right next to the door. Two funny-looking feet. Two Computer-Animated feet. "He hasn't seen us," whispered Kat. "But he can hear you,"CAC said from behind the door. Then he jumped out and attacked Sora. Kat pulled out her .38 Special and held it to CAC's head. "Let go, shithead. Or your head will look like shit." She pulled back the hammer. " ... More than it does already." CAC let go and started crying. "That's so obviously fake," Sora said. "Him, or his crying?" asked Kat. "Uh ... both." "Don't hurt us!" groveled CAC. "We are just scared, Precious!" "Of Kat?!" laughed Sora. Kat pointed the .38 Special at her, and she stopped laughing. "Listen, CAC," said Kat. "For some odd reason, I feel sorry for you. Probably because of your shoddy appearance. But I don't want you wandering off by yourself. So you're coming with us." "What?" exlclaimed Sora. "The SSR only has two seats!" Kat thought about that. "Uh ... can we use your Grand Am? The Orange one?" CAC looked up at her. "Yes ... yes ... we will drive you." "Hardly." Kat put her .38 Special away. "I'm driving, aight? But you have to help us get to Nevada. Because we're kind of lost." They went out to the parking lot and Kat looked mournfully at the SSR. "What about my Chevy baby?" "Just drive it to that house across the street and ask them to keep it for you for a little while. Just keep the keys." Sora popped the trunk and started taking her bags out. "Hey!" yelled Kat. "Come back here!" She ran after CAC, who had started running down the street. She tackled him. "You promised!" she cried. "No, we didn't," said CAC. "Fine. Then promise." She stuck out her tongue. The One Tongue Ring lay on it. "On ... thith." She quickly closed her mouth so it wouldn't fall out. "You put that in your mouth again?" asked Sora. "Didn't Joe say not to?" "We swear!" cried CAC. "Just stop hurting us!" Kat picked him up and threw him in the backseat of the Grand Am. Sora put their stuff in the trunk. Then she drove the SSR to the house across the street, while Kat followed in the Grand Am. It took Sora a while to convince the owner, but he let them keep it out back--locked, of course. Then Sora got into the Grand Am and Kat pocketed the SSR keys. "Okay," said Matt. "I just saw two white 15-passenger vans on the road far ahead of us. And there are foul-looking things in there." "So ..." said TK,"you are guessing those are the Plastic Surgery Victims?" "And Liposuction Victims," corrected Tai, pressing the gas pedal on the Aviator as they entered I-90. A little while later, they noticed something dark in the snow-covered ditch. It was a Plastic Surgery Victim. Or, the remains of it. "I think we're on the right track," said Matt. "I didn't notice," muttered Tai. TK leaned forward, excited. "We're catching up. Go faster." "Getting pulled over won't help our cause." But he did speed up. Soon, they turned off at Sturgis and followed the highway, past Deadwood, Pluma, and Silver City. They were practically back in Rapid City. "I think we lost them," said Tai. "We were following them!" shouted Matt. "You say potato, I say fuck you." "Just pull over." He did, and they ate a little Hawaiian Sweet Bread. Soon, they heard loud engines. "Crotchrockets!" exclaimed TK. "A... lot of them." The crotchrockets also stopped on the road, right next to the Aviator. Tai rolled down his window. "Aren't you in the wrong season to be riding those?" he asked. "Sturgis isn't 'til summer." Matt leaned towards him. "Those aren't exactly Sturgis bikes." A couple riders whispered to each other. The one in the lead hopped off his ride and walked over to the Aviator, helmet in hand. "Are you sure about that?" He had to look up to see Tai's face, that's how short he was. "Absolutely." "Oh." The young-looking kid looked disappointed. "Well, who are you and what are you doing here?" "So we can't drive wherever we want anymore?" asked TK scornfully from the backseat. His window was open too, and he was peering at the short teenager in front of him. "Are you old enough to ride that?" Anger flashed in the kid's eyes. "I'd poke you in the eyes, kid, if your head wasn't so close to the ground." "I bet I'm taller than you." "Children," said Tai. He turned to the kid. "My name is Tai. What's yours?" The kid looked back up at Tai. "I am Cody. We're from Wyoming. What's your real name, Mr. Tai?" "That is my real name. But here," Tai picked up the Superglued Knife, "look at this mothafucker. Cool, eh?" Cody gasped and stepped backwards. "You!" Tai put the Superglued Knife away. "Uh ... me. Are you gonna help us or not?" |
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| The Two Cities part one |