Joe, Tai, Matt, and TK stayed the night in Laramie. The next morning, Davis had them summoned to the City Hall. "The people of Laramie will make for Muddy Gap," he instructed them. "It's about an hour and a half from here." "Well, then," said Joe. "Let's get going, shall we?" So the whole town of Laramie piled into buses. Matt (with TK) and Tai rode their crotchrockets with Cody and his gang, while Joe left in his Ferrari. He didn't say exactly where he was going, or what he was doing, but they learned to stop asking. When they got there, one of Davis' men told him that they had reports of Plastic Surgery Surgery Victims and Liposuction Victims in the area. "They will surely come this way, then," said Davis. He turned to Tai and Cody. "Find me as many men as you can to fight. We'll do a hasty little draft here. Any boys older than 13. And make sure they're ready by nightfall." "I'll get all the people from Laramie that came," said Tai. "I"ll make some phone calls," said Cody. Muddy Gap was a small town in the crook of a Y formed by two roads. Underneath it was an intricate underground tunnel system, which opened into a large city. A small gravel road down there connected it to some of the surrounding towns. A barbed-wire fence encircled Muddy Gap, with only a skinny gate on the south side. At 5 o' clock, all the men and teenage boys were standing guard at the fence, wondering if an attack was going to come, and feeling kind of stupid. "I don't like standing in the front," said Matt. "Can't I go underground?" "No," said Tai. "You're such a wimp," said TK. "I bet I can kill more Plastic Surgery Victims than you." "What? With your Swiss Army Knife? But seriously, how could we possibly win?" "Because Plastic Surgery Victims' only weapons are their looks." Tai loaded his UZI Submachine Gun. "Just don't look at them." Maple set Mimi and Kari down in a different part of the Black Hills. "We'll leave at midnight," he said, gazing over the trees. "Uh ... Maple?" asked Mimi. "Are those trees moving?" "Of course. But they are not going to Chicago. They have business out West, with the Plastic Surgery Victims. Or Liposuction Victims. Maybe both." He kind of ... shrugged ... and fell over to sleep. Snow piled on Mimi and Kari. "We're gonna die of pneumonia, if this keeps up," said Kari, digging her way out. "I have an idea," said Mimi. She climbed back in the hole. "It's warm under the snow. Let's make a fort." "OK!" "Really?" "No." Kari wandered around. "it will probably just snow on us and trap us in there." "Fine. Be cold." Mimi started widening her fort. At midnight, Maple woke them up and carried them east. There, they met up with Tree and a number of other trees, singing "99 Bottles of Bacardi O3 on the Wall." The girls climbed back onto Tree's shoulders. Kari looked back, and saw that all of the Black Hills was moving! Well, most of it, anyway. Something big is going to happen, she thought. "What's taking them so long?" asked TK. "Can't you see them coming?" said Tai. "Look down the highway." Indeed, they could see many headlights coming their way. "How is this going to work?" said Matt. "They're in vehicles." "Oh, they'll get out, believe me." Lightning zig-zagged across the sky. A second later, they heard the crash of its thunder. "Oh, so now it's going to rain!" said Matt. "And then it will freeze." The Plastic Surgery Victims stopped their school buses in the front of the city and climbed on top of them, jeering at the warriors inside Muddy Gap. "Well," said Tai. "I reckon we should shoot them." And so they did. Plastic Surgery Victims came crashing to the ground, and the tires on the buses went flat. But, little to Tai's knowledge, they did have weapons. Arrows shot throught the fence, and bullets slammed into the people behind it. Matt screamed and hid behind TK. "I thought you said they didn't have weapons!" he yelled over the noise. "I lied!" Tai shot a volley at some Plastic Surgery Victims who were getting closer. "No, let them come," said TK. "I want to kill them." Cody came over to them. "Let us kill them together." "OK." Tai went with Cody to the gate, where some Plastic Surgery Victims were trying to break it open. They ran to the east side of the city and jumped into a manhole. The sewer underneath came out on the other side of the fence, and Tai and Cody jumped out, shooting everywhere. The Plastic Surgery Victims were surprised and stopped beating on the gate. Of course, many of them had to stop beating on the gate, because they fell over, dead. "There's more of them!" said Matt, pointing to the horizon. "So shoot them!" TK plunged his Swiss Army Knife through the fence. "I've already shot 22 of them," Matt said, firing another shot into a Plastic Surgery Victim's neck. TK spun around. "What?" He noticed something out of the corner of his eye, and threw his armed arm behind him. A Plastic Surgery Victim screamed in pain as the Swiss Army Knife ripped into his arm that was reaching through the fence. "That's ... uh ... 23." "Liar." Tai ran up to them. "We need your help! Plastic Surgery Victims have climbed through the manhole!" They three of them ran back to the east side, and saw many men shooting Plastic Surgery Victims as they poked their ugly heads through. "6!" cried TK as he jumped in the middle of it. "7! 8! Take that!" Matt stood back from the ruckus. "My bullets are gone." Tai shoved him backwards. "Then go underground, because you are no more help here." Matt complied and ran to the underground entrance. Tai ran into the city, also, to find Davis. "Plastic Surgery Victims are coming in through the sewer." "Is Cody there?" "I haven't seen him." "Then I shall ride out." Davis stood tall. "Where are the crotchrockets?" Tai laid a hand on his shoulder. "I will go with you." "Oh good." Tai went to the gate. Some Liposuction Victims had joined the Plastic Surgery Victimes at banging on the gate. "What? Are you still here?" he asked them. "We are Liposuction Victims. Shut up or we'll shoot you." The Liposuction Victims crowded closer to the gate. "With what? Your fat?" "Well ..." They couldn't think of anything. "Well, yo momma's so fat, she sat on da rainbow, and Skittles popped out!" "At least we got free candy as children." At that time, Davis came riding on a crotchrocket and Tai jumped on the extra one Davis had running with him. They both crashed through the gate, shooting and riding over Liposuction Victims and Plastic Surgery Victims. A roaring sound came down the highway. A vehicle with its bright lights on was speeding towards them. A large dark shadow was behind the car. "It's Joe!" cried TK from his position standing on the manhole. The Plastic Surgery Victims were blinded by the light, and the Ferrari ran over them before sliding to an icy stop. The rain was indeed falling hard. The other Plastic Surgery Victims and Liposuction Victims ran down the highway, right into the huge forest that now surrounded Muddy Gap. They heard screams as the trees swayed in the wind and the rain. Joe got out of his Ferrari. "I wouldn't go near those trees for a while," he said, slipping on the icy road. Tai jumped off his crotchrocket and gave Joe a hug. "We are so happy to see you!" he cried. "OK, just don't turn gay on me." Matt ran out to meet them once it was safe. "How many?" he asked TK. TK looked up. "Uh ... 23." Matt gave him a quizzical look. "Are you lying?" "No." "Then, damn." TK hid his smirk. Tai looked at the new forest. "Joe, uh ... what's with the trees?" "You'll find out," Joe said. "When we go to Chicago." "What?" "We'll rest here and leave when the sun sets. You guys sure fought for a long time." Already, the sun was peeping on the horizon. Joe locked his Ferrari with a boop, boop and turned to Davis. "Aren't you going to let me in?" "Around the Grand Canyon ... " Kat muttered. "Bullshit. Why aren't there bridges across it?" Her and Sora were back on I-40, going east. "That'd be a sight," said Sora. "Aren't we going to stop for supper?" "OK, OK." Kat pulled off in Flagstaff. "Maybe we should stay here for the night." "Why?" "Because I'm sick of driving through Arizona." They ate dinner and did decide to stop and spend the ngiht. Kat and Sora needed a rest. In the morning, they started up the Orange Grand Am, not ready for another road trip. "A ... B ...C, D," said Sora, reading road signs. Kat sighed. "A. B. E." "Cheater." "You could at least make it interesing," said Kat. "Like, find something that starts with 'A.'" "OK." Sora looked out at the landscape. "Arizona." "Hey, now, that one was mine." She looked around. "Airplane." "Where?" Sora rolled down her window and looked out. "Hey, there's another one. And ... another one ..." She was feeling ... weird. Kat felt it, too. Like a huge weight in her mouth. "Wait a minute." Sora closed her window and looked at Kat. "Reapers?" "I think so. Are they flying Cessnas?" "No. They're airplanes." Kat opened her mouth to explain, but decided it'd be a waste of breath. Plus, the Tongue Ring had started to roll off her tongue. All day, Mimi and Kari rode atop Tree's shoulders through South Dakota. It was ... boring. And uncomfortable. At 6 that night, Joe and his friends from Wyoming drove into South Dakota. Sadly, Davis made Joe drive the speed limit. They stopped in Mitchell at midnight to sleep. They might be able to get to Illinois tomorrow. Tree and the trees of the Black Hills stopped at the outskirts of Chicago the next day, looking at the Sears Tower. "This is it," said Tree to Mimi and Kari. He looked back at the forest. "It's go time." |
| The Two Cities part four |
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