Page 31 of The White Rider
“Hey!” Asher said. “If I’m not allowed to put myself down, neither are you. There’s a lot more to intelligence than whipping up vaccines like Leif. No one cares if you suck at algebra. You would never have escaped Isaiah unless you were smarter than he was and look at everything he’s done.”
Now, I was the one blushing.
“Shit, Conquest. I think that’s the nicest thing you’ve ever said to me.”
“And I meant it. Don’t go getting a fat head, though. Those Bubbas tomorrow will be armed and dangerous, and you aren’t bulletproof.”
Yeah, thanks for that reminder. I didn’t get the angel pockets either, and a bullet would kill me.
Chapter 17
A
eronhad somehow found nachos in the middle of the apocalypse, so I knew he had scavenging skills. I was still a little surprised when he whipped out a Kevlar vest and riot gear before we stormed the munitions factory. It smelled like BO, and I was pretty sure that was dried brain matter all over it, but I sure as shit strapped it on without thinking twice. I’d much rather need a shower than take a bullet.
“If I could have found some in better condition, I would have, Speedy,” Aeron said. “You don’t even want to know what went down in prisons that used tainted water.”
“Oh, my god. What happened to the prisoners at the ones who didn’t? Who is taking care of them?”
I didn’t even think about prisons. They filled many of them with nonviolent offenders in the for-profit prisons, and I had gigantic problems with people serving life over some weed. I had bigger problems with people being locked in to starve during the apocalypse over weed.
“Relax, Speedy. Most of the governors ordered the guards to unlock the cells and get the fuck out of there. They were left to fend for themselves, but they didn’t starve to death. A lot of the prisoners worked together and turned their prison into a stronghold. One of the prisons here is part of the resistance. They weeded out anyone with them that enjoyed hurting people for fun. They commandeered some prison vehicles. They drive around trying to stop the Bubbas from hurting people, but they are outnumbered.”
“I can dig that.”
Dice, Leif, and Asher joined us, fully dressed for battle. Dice was shirtless again and wearing vintage suspenders with the Coca-Cola logo on them. Leif was in black jeans and a black Henley. Asher was wearing a fuckingblack trench coat.Damn, did all of them look fine as Hell! I got the purpose of riot gear, but it was kind of frumpy.
“You ready, Speedy? You want us to ask before we bring you places,” Leif asked.
“Let’s do this!”
I was pumped. This was one last thing on our to-do list before we took out my father. I’d sure sleep a whole fucking lot better at night knowing he was dead, and that we’d stopped the apocalypse. The longer he lived, the closer we were to Satan and demons fighting it out with angels and destroying the Earth.
I appeared between two warehouses with the four angels. We seemed to be in some industrial district, but I couldn’t tell you what was being manufactured there, besides ammunition. All the signs had fallen off the buildings. They had broken most of the windows, and people had spray-painted a lot of the buildings. Some of it was post Rage Mutation because some graffiti was zombie related.
Aeron pointed to the end of the alleyway between the buildings.
“Just get me inside. I’ll do the rest. Ariel, walk behind us, in case they see us and start shooting. I don’t need you hit by a stray bullet.”
That seemed like a good plan at the time. I had all this gear on, but I didn’t want to stake my life on it. I could see the future… sometimes. It was an iffy thing. If I couldn’t even predict when my Harbinger gifts were going to kick in, I wasn’t going to try to predict the path of a bunch of bullets flying at me from crazed Bubbas.
It seemed like agreatidea to go last. You pretty much never wanted to get picked last for sports in school, but going last to storm a bullet factory? That was just smart. Let the bulletproof people go first.
So, yeah, it seemed like aspectacularidea… until someone came out of nowhere and grabbed me from behind. I didn’t even get a chance to scream. They clamped a rag over my nose and mouth. I knew that smell. I had smelled it on the day I got kidnapped the first time.
The angels didn’t even realize I was no longer following them. The last thing I saw as my vision went black was them continuing their mission to the factory.
Chapter 18
T
his had totally gone to shit. I was totally pissed with myself that I’d gotten kidnapped,again.I came to on a dirty floor, surrounded by five Bubbas. They weren’t paying attention to me. They were arguing about the four angels who would be looking for me right about now.
They clearly didn’t know a damned thing about women either, because they hadn’t even tied me up. Really? Not even a little rope? I would have been fucked if I had to get myself out of that, but did they really think I was so little of a threat because I had a vagina that they just left me free on the floor like that?
Still, I could use that. I wasn’t helpless. They were distracted and worried about the four terrorists with me. Ireallyhoped my angels were taking out the bullet factory instead of tearing this place apart looking for me.
Think, Speedy. I needed a weapon. These guys were dumb enough to leave me untied, but I doubt they’d left Smurfette nearby, and they probably had guns. Smurfette sure did come in handy, but she didn’t block bullets.
