Authors: Walter Greatshell
Mad Skills (26 page)
“Grand openings,” he replied softly. Her kicks didn’t seem to have fazed him, and he calmly awaited her next attack.
She advanced into his strike radius, shears ready at her side. They were playing a game of chicken, waiting to see who would blink first. Maddy understood that by revealing an action, one is already at a disadvantage. She had all his possible moves mapped out, ready to counter them. But what he did was both simpler and more unexpected than anything she imagined.
He went for the shears with his hand. It was like a child grabbing a poisonous snake. But when she hacked at his gloved fingers, she was startled to find that they were tougher than she expected, too tough to chop through. Not flesh and bone at all—the rubber peeled back to reveal glints of
metal
. It was a prosthetic. He seized the blades, ripping the weapon away from her. Now he had both large tools, leaving her with nothing but a pitiful, rusty screwdriver.
metal
. It was a prosthetic. He seized the blades, ripping the weapon away from her. Now he had both large tools, leaving her with nothing but a pitiful, rusty screwdriver.
“Don’t mess with Sinatra,” he said.
“What?”
“The man with the golden arm.”
“What the hell are you talking about? Who are you?”
“Don’t you remember me, Madeline? I’m Dr. Hellstrom. I assisted in your procedure. We should really be friends, you know, since we have so much in common. We’re both Braintree alumni.”
Clearly, he was more interested in preventing her from leaving than he was in killing her. It was disconcerting to realize that if he had really wanted to kill her, he could have. Easily.
So how could she kill him? Come to think of it, how could she kill anyone? Oh my God, how had all this happened at all? For a second or two, she jittered on the ragged fringe of cold, raw panic … then the implant kicked in, delivering a warm, smoothing sensation that muffled the spikes like a blanket over barbed wire.
“Hey, kid,” said Moses, sitting behind the wheel of the van. “Need a lift?”
Diving on top of him, she locked the door. The engine was still running. It didn’t sound too good, but it didn’t have to—it wasn’t going anywhere. The front airbag had been deployed, but she used the screwdriver to pry open the door paneling and remove a small package—the side airbag—then reached under the dash for the electrical panel. As the doctor smashed in the window, Maddy dove for the passenger side, but she was too slow. He was already on her, painfully pinning her facedown on the seat. If only she could turn into thin air like that damn raccoon.
Relieving her of the screwdriver, Hellstrom murmured, “I’ll just
take
that, thank you very much.”
take
that, thank you very much.”
“Take
this
,” she said, and touched the airbag’s sensor terminal to a live jack.
this
,” she said, and touched the airbag’s sensor terminal to a live jack.
It exploded between them, blowing the man out the windshield. Maddy, lying tucked in the angle of the seats, avoided the brunt of its force.
Shoving aside the spent bag, she jumped from the van and ran up the slope to her car. God what a mess. She couldn’t drive the thing anymore; it looked like it had been used for bombing practice. Fortunately, it wasn’t that visible from the road. She could hear sirens in the distance and see plumes of smoke from burning buildings and police cars; no one was bothering much about an old abandoned vehicle in the weeds. Not yet.
Legs a little shaky, Maddy hiked up to the highway and started walking away from town. The morning traffic was backed up because of the fire, and she felt highly conspicuous—maybe walking wasn’t such a good idea. When someone rolled down their window to talk to her, she thought,
Oh God, here it comes.
Oh God, here it comes.
“Honey, you need a lift?” called the driver. It was a pretty, dark-haired young woman in a sputtering Volvo station wagon, with two little girls in the backseat.
“Actually, yeah, I do.”
“Where you headed?”
“Well, I’m a little lost,” Maddy said. “I’m trying to get to Denton.”
“Denton … ?”
“Denton, Colorado?”
“Oh—wow. Okay. Well, we’re not going that far, but we can get you over to Cheyenne.”
“That’s fine.”
“Get in.”
TWENTY-SEVEN
PINS AND NEEDLES
YOU’VE been asleep for quite a while.”
“Oh—sorry.” Maddy suddenly realized her IV puncture was exposed and covered it up. “Gee, I must have really passed out, I’m sorry. I guess I was more tired than I thought.”
“I could tell. So what were you doing walking out there?”
“My car broke down.”
“Oh! I didn’t think you looked like the type to be hitch-hiking.”
“How can you tell?”
“No luggage. You’re not dressed for it. Most hitchhikers are carrying something, a bag or a backpack. I picked up this one kid who had everything he owned in a pillowcase. I was afraid you might be in trouble. I’m on the road a lot for my job, and I try to help out street kids when I see them because I would hope someone would do the same for mine if they ever needed it.”
“That’s cool. Thank you.”
“Hey, just pass it along to the next person you meet. My name’s Donna Rasmussen, and that’s Faith and Lucy back there.”
“Hi,” the girls said. The brasher one asked, “What’s your name?”
“I’m Marilyn, uh, Marilyn Manson—
Mason
, sorry! Phew, yeah, Mary Mason. Wow. But I’m really not homeless or a runaway or anything. I’m actually on my way back home.”
Mason
, sorry! Phew, yeah, Mary Mason. Wow. But I’m really not homeless or a runaway or anything. I’m actually on my way back home.”
The woman asked, “Do you go to school or something, Mary?”
“Kind of, yeah.”
“Kind of?”
“It’s more of a … rehabilitation program. I just got out.”
“
Oh
—I understand. That’s okay. Congratulations.”
Oh
—I understand. That’s okay. Congratulations.”
“Thanks.”
“I know where you’re at, believe me. I’ve been there.”
“Really?”
“Oh yeah. You may not know it to look at me now, but I used to raise holy hell. Got into every kind of trouble you can imagine, mixed up with gangs, drugs, alcohol, you name it. I’ve done my time. Nobody could tell me anything, especially not my parents. But you know what finally turned it around for me?”
Maddy thought,
The Lord Jesus Christ
, but she said, “What?”
The Lord Jesus Christ
, but she said, “What?”
“The Lord Jesus Christ.”
“Oh … yeah?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not gonna start preaching at you. I know how stupid this sounds if you’re not in the right mentality. I rejected it for a long time, believe me. Wasn’t until I hit rock bottom that I was ready, and that’s when He came to me.”
“So you had some kind of epiphany or something?”
“Epiphany, yes. Good word. I woke up one night in an abandoned factory, cold and hungry and strung out, and I had no idea where I was. On top of that, I had just found out the day before that I was pregnant. I was scared to death, so I started praying for help, begging on my hands and knees for somebody to save me, when all of a sudden this bright light hit me, like a ray of sunshine, and I knew there was nothing to be afraid of … because He was there. And He’s been with us ever since.”
“What happened to you, though?”
“You mean that night? Let’s just say all my sins finally caught up with me. But I forgave and asked for forgiveness. I started fresh. It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but over time I was able to get clean, pull myself back together. And I was blessed with these two little angels. I won’t lie—sometimes it’s still a struggle. But that’s just life—troubles are put here to test us.”
“You think so? What happens if we fail the test?”
“It’s not a matter of failing. All fall short of God. He understands. Anyway, I didn’t mean to hit you with all this—I usually never talk about it, but something about you just brought it all back. Let’s change the subject. I was wondering if your folks might be worried about you.”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to reach them on the phone.”
“Do you want to try calling again?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Lucy, pass her my cell, would you?”
One of the little girls rummaged in a beaded bag and handed the phone up to Maddy.
The woman said, “If you’d rather have some privacy, we can pull over.”
“That would be great, if you don’t mind.”
“Not at all.”
They pulled over at a gas station and let Maddy out. Walking a little way into some trees, she dialed the number, feeling her heart pound harder than it had when she was fighting madmen to the death. It rang twice and picked up.
“Hello?”
“Hello, Mom?” Maddy instantly started crying.
“Maddy! Oh my God—where are you? Roger, it’s Maddy! Honey, are you all right? We’ve been so scared!”
“I’m okay. I’m coming home.”
“Oh thank God! Where are you? Can we come get you?”
“No, that’s okay. I’m with friends; they’re driving me. I should be there soon—I’m not sure how long, but probably either tonight or tomorrow.”
“Maddy, what happened? Why did you run away? Did something happen?”
“They told you I ran away?”
“Dr. Stevens just said that you left the grounds without permission. She was worried you might be having a relapse. Everybody just wants you back, honey.”
“So they basically told you I’m crazy.”
“No! We’re all just concerned about you. We want you back safe. Please, honey, tell me where you are.
I’m
going crazy sitting here.”
I’m
going crazy sitting here.”
“Mom, I’ll be home soon; and then we can talk about this. In the meantime, don’t worry about me, and don’t believe anyone who tries to tell you I’m having a relapse. I left Braintree because they were trying to turn me into something I don’t want to be. That’s what they do there. They did it to Ben, and they’re trying to do it to me.”
“Ben? What—?”
“Ben is alive. Tell his dad I saw him. He had the same surgery as me. They covered it up because they’re using him as a guinea pig for their mind-control experiments, just like they’re doing to hundreds of other people. It’s really twisted. That’s why I can’t tell you where I am, because they’ll come after me. They already have, and a bunch of people are dead because of it. In fact, I better hang up the phone now in case they can trace it. Have the police been there?”
“Well, yes, of course, but—”
“Then I gotta go. Love you—give my love to Dad. Bye.”
“No, wait—”
She hung up.
“WELL, this is as far as we go.”
They had been driving all day and were pulled over at a truck stop near the highway junction. It was getting dark.
“Okay,” Maddy said, undoing her seat belt. “I really appreciate this, thank you so much.”
“Wait. Listen, I’ve been thinking about this: Why don’t you come home with us and let us put you up for the night? We’ve got plenty of room. Or at least let me buy you a bus ticket the rest of the way. I’m sure your parents wouldn’t want you out here by the side of the road after dark, and I don’t really like it either. It’s freezing out there.”
“No, seriously, you’ve done enough already. I’ll be fine.”
“I know. I know you’ll be fine, but do it as a favor to me and the girls—otherwise, we’ll be worried about you all night.”
“Uh, gee, I don’t know. That’s very nice and all, but …”
“Come on, Mary. I promised them we’d do something fun tonight. Do you want to disappoint them? It’s Lucy’s birthday tomorrow. Please join us, or it’ll be a real drag.”
“C’mon, Mary,
pleasepleaseplease
,” begged the girls.
pleasepleaseplease
,” begged the girls.
“Well … are you sure?”
“Absolutely. Positively.”
Maddy thought about it for a second, then said, “Okay. Thanks.”
“No, thank
you
. That’s a load off my mind, let me tell you. Okay, there’s one more question I have to ask you, though, and it’s very important.”
you
. That’s a load off my mind, let me tell you. Okay, there’s one more question I have to ask you, though, and it’s very important.”
The woman’s face was so serious that Maddy tensed. “What’s that?” she asked guardedly.
“How do you feel about bowling?”
PIN Drop Lanes was part of a larger entertainment complex in a shopping plaza on the outskirts of Cheyenne, Wyoming. It was not the type of bowling alley Maddy had envisioned, which was a hangout for fifties rejects with beer guts and greased comb-overs, a place reeking of pine paneling and Pine-Sol and drenched with unforgiving greenish fluorescent light. She had never bowled in her life and wasn’t particularly looking forward to it.
Walking into the bowling emporium with the three Rasmussens, she was a bit dazzled: The place resembled some disco paradise, only with better music, all lit up with neon and lasers and mirrored balls and black lights. Best thing about it was there were no bowlers of the polyester-slacks variety; the crowd was mostly young families and high-school and college students.
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