Page 31 of The Red Rider
ice never got out of bed. I woke up smashed between Dice and Aeron. Even though Dice had never gotten out of bed, the power was back on, and the air conditioner was whirring. He didn’t mention needing to fix it and kept wanting me to go outside and eat after my shower. I refused to shower with Dice, Aeron, or Leif when there was work to be done. I knew what angels did up against shower walls, and it was seven ways to filthy. We’d never get anything done. However, I did want more shower sex when we weren’t busy.
Everyone at the base seemed to eat together at the picnic tables in the middle of the theme park. There was a large fire pit and things to cook on. I wasn’t mad about the fact someone made eggs with the leftovers from that spinach dish I liked so much, though I couldn’t imagine why there was any left because me and three angels kept going back for more.
I thought fresh bread was a thing of the past. I had pita bread in California, but I was talking about a loaf of fresh sourdough straight out of Miss Mabel’s bread maker. Someone brought out toast and homemade butter. I literally almost orgasmed on the spot when I took a bite.
We weren’t chatting and having fun over breakfast. We needed to eat and get back to Cinderella’s Castle so we could work. I grabbed Leif before he left and pulled him into a kiss.
“I miss you. Am I going to get to see you more soon?”
“Soon, Speedy. I’ve grabbed a few army medics, and Dice told me where to find a few civilians that can help. My lab here isn’t like my one in San Quintin, but it’ll do. Do what you need to do.”
I knew they needed him in his lab, but I missed my Leif. I held hands with Aeron and Dice as we made our way to the castle. I was in a pretty damned good mood, considering how pissed off I was at dinner. I wasn’t as nervous about learning to use my angel grace. No, I was going to master it and blast my father on his ass. I was going to be a total Nephilim badass.
Dice pulled his MP3 player out of his pocket and set it in the dock, but he didn’t play music. He put some sort of device over his eye that made his eye the size of a dinner plate and hunched over his pile of parts again.
“Blast that mosaic, Speedy,” he said, picking up his screwdriver.
There were still mosaics all over the walls, and I totally wasn’t destroying them. Disneyworld might be a military base now, and there might be bombs here now, but some things were sacred.
“No way. I’m not destroying art.”
“Hit Aeron then.”
“Hey!”
“I’m not hitting Aeron either, Dice.”
Dice walked over to a heavy piece of machinery and picked it up like it was a ball of cotton. He walked it to the center of the room and set it down, then went back to his table.
“Are you offended by scrap metal?”
“Cool it, Dice. I didn’t want the mosaics destroyed either. It’s art. You know she’s an amazing artist, right? Look at her arms. She drew those,” Aeron said proudly.
Aeron was talking about my sleeves like I was his kid, and I just came home with a picture from school he was going to hang on the fridge. My father pretty much never did that with me, but it was nice to hear Aeron bragging about me like that.
Dice clearly didn’t know I’d drawn the art on my arms, even if he knew I was an artist. He looked up from his table, with one of his eyes seriously magnified.
“No shit? I knew you drew, but I didn’t know you drew those. Amazing work. How did you tattoo them on yourself?”
“I’m left-handed. I did my right arm, and my business partner did my left and the parts of my right arm I couldn’t reach. We have similar styles, and that’s why we work so well together. I wonder if they are still alive. Do you know, Aeron?”
Aeron looked crushed.
“I don’t. Miss Mabel was able to tell me a few people from your softball team were still alive, but she didn’t mention your business partner. A lot of people are still missing. They might be alive and in another state. When the Rage Mutation started happening, people kept thinking there was a safe place to flee. It was the same with the war.”
“It’s shitty, Speedy. Now, use what you are feeling to move that scrap metal.”
I felt this horrible bubbling of shit deep in the pit of my stomach. It was a lot like drinking shitty tequila, trying to eat greasy food with jalapenos to sober up, then changing your mind and drinking again. Imagine that, but thirty minutes later, in the bathroom. That’s basically what I felt like after thinking about my business partner possibly being a Rage Head.
I felt Aeron’s hands on my shoulders.
“Use what you’re feeling,” he urged.
I didn’t want to use this at all. I wanted to stick my fingers down my throat and vomit it out, even though I wasn’t very good at that when I was stinking drunk. I wanted it to go away. But maybe it could. Perhaps I could send it all towards that hunk of sheet metal. I couldn’t think of any other way to get rid of it. The only other time I’d used my angel grace was by accident, but I always felt amazing afterward. Okay, most of that was the sex, but maybe I could get rid of this feeling like snakes shed their skin.
I focused on this nasty feeling in my stomach and tried to pull it away from me. I was doing it! My hands started glowing a soft white like Aeron, Leif, and Dice did when we were having sex. I thrust my hands at the scrap metal, and it was like someone shot a bullet at a tin can. There was a spark, and it went flying in the air before it crashed to the floor.
“Ha! I did it!”
