Outside
By Be Boring
Chapter 17: No News Is Good News
Kay felt the warmth all around her and smiled to herself. This was one of the few times she had smiled in the last few days, and every time she smiled it was the same time of day. The sun was just coming up and light was starting to filter through the window next to the bed. It was completely quiet outside except for birds and the occasional snort of a horse. There were no doors being slammed, no vehicles starting up and squealing out of the driveway, and no fights breaking out. That was what she had lived with ever since she came back. It seemed as though no one could get along. When there wasn't people screaming at each other, there was a very awkward silence; if that broke then chaos would break out again. Julie tended to keep Ray as far away from the X5s as possible, she didn't fully trust them. That was fine with Kay, every time she saw the boy she felt cautious, because at any moment he could try and contact his father and everyone here would be up to their necks in hot water. Buddy and Mary rarely invited her over for supper anymore, the others would come and the fighting would start. Lydecker didn't show his face outside, he lived in Buddy and Mary's basement. Zack and Ben had stopped getting along ever since Kay asked them to leave Lydecker alone. He was an asset to them and they needed him alive. The only problem was that while Zack finally gave in and agreed to steer clear of him, Ben refused to give it up. It was probably because their relationship was so close and he felt the need to protect her, but that was laughable because Kay certainly didn't need his help in staying safe.
At the moment, Kay was laying comfortably in Ben's arms and watching the sun rise. She usually woke up this early, she didn't need a whole lot of sleep. She listened to his steady breathing in her ear and enjoyed feeling this close to him. She felt as though she could enjoy this more now that she didn't have to run from the Familiars. Even though Ray was here, he hadn't once shown interest in leaving. He was close to his Aunt Julie and was always sneaking out to the barns to play with the baby horses. Kay had expected him to be hard and emotionless like the other Familiars had been, but that apparently hadn't been burned into him yet. If you didn't think about his parentage, then he was by all rights a normal little boy.
Ben stirred a little in his sleep and tightened his grip around her. She settled back into it easily, wishing she didn't have to get up and face the day. Still, she had work to do and people to see. Even though things were uncomfortable around most people on the farm, Brin had become a good friend to her. She had been hurt more than anyone by Wendy's death and Kay decided to be there for her, especially since she had been the main factor in saving Kay's life. Her emotions were starting to show more often now, and it wasn't uncommon anymore to see her smile, laugh at a joke, or even try and help someone out just for the hell of it.
"Kay, are you awake?" Ben's muffled voice came from her hair
"No. I've just become talented at answering people in my sleep."
He pinched her ribs teasingly, then propped himself up on his elbow to look at the clock. He groaned a little at the time, then rolled off the bed on the other side to head for the shower. Kay lay on her back and listened to the water starting up, then stood up and walked to the bathroom. His back was to her as he stepped into the shower stall, so she walked up to him and wrapped her arms around his stomach from behind. He gave her hands an appreciative squeeze and she knew he was smiling, but then he reached forward and twisted the temperature knob. Kay gasped loudly as the hot water changed quickly to cold and she jumped away from him. He turned to grin at her and wiggled a finger in her face.
"We have to get going, and it won't speed things up if you're in here with me."
Kay pouted a bit but knew he was right. "Fine, I'll go make breakfast." She toweled off the cold water and grabbed her robe so she could walk into the kitchen without anyone seeing what they shouldn't. The three bedrooms in this house were full; Julie in one, Ray in another, and Ben and Kay in the main one. Brin had moved into Ben's empty room in Zack's house because she complained they kept her up all night with her sensitive hearing. That was okay because it meant Ray got his own room. He and his aunt slept dead to the world, so it wouldn't matter what Kay and Ben were doing.
The kitchen and living room were empty, but Kay knew that wouldn't last long. Julie would come as soon as she smelled food, and Ben's showers were never that long, so soon everyone would be eating. Ray was the only one who slept in late. Kay spotted Brin walking out of her and Zack's house, so she stepped out the door and waved to her. Brin made her way over looking as though she'd never been happier to see anyone else.
"What's got you up so early?" Kay asked curiously. Brin was another person who could sleep the day away.
"I had some bad dreams, that's all."
"What were they about?"
"Manticore."
That was all she needed to say. Kay knew Brin deeply regretted her time back at Manticore. She held herself responsible for Tinga's death because she was close enough to the situation to stop it if she had really wanted to.
"Tinga again?"
"Yeah."
"Want to help me make breakfast?"
Brin's eyes lit up. One thing Kay had found out about her sister was that she had become an excellent cook in her younger years out of Manticore. That was one of Brin's complaints about living with Zack. According to her, he probably didn't even know how to make pancakes. That always made Kay wonder about how he managed to take care of himself for so long. He probably went out to fast food places all the time.
Kay stood back and let Brin do her stuff. There was no point trying to help, she'd just be in the way. Kay went and sat down in the living room, curling her legs beneath her on the couch. Despite all its down comings, this place was home and she could probably never feel as safe anywhere else. There was something so relaxing about listening to Brin make breakfast and hearing the water running as Ben showered.
Kay was snapped out of her little daze when she realized Ray had come out of his room and was standing about two feet to her left. He was looking at her curiously, Julie never let him talk to the X5s and he usually wasn't up before her to give it a try.
"What are you doing up?"
His blue eyes wandered over her face as if to see if she was growing another head. Julie had apparently passed on some of what she thought about transgenics to him. "I couldn't sleep."
"Bad dreams?"
He shook his head, his strange blue eyes never leaving hers. "I rolled over in my sleep and knocked my mom's perfume off the table next to the bed. The room smells like her now."
Kay felt a slight pang of sympathy for him, he obviously missed his mother. "Well, I'll help you get that cleaned up."
Ray stepped back as Kay got up off the couch and walked into his bedroom. The air smelled like Wendy, all right. Seeing the puddle of perfume on the floor, Kay went to the kitchen and got a handful of paper towels. Even once she managed to get the puddle dried up, the scent wasn't gone. Kay got more paper towels, made sure they were wet, and tried to get the smell out. It still wasn't completely gone when she was done, but it was several times better.
Ray was sitting where she had been on the couch earlier, watching her while she worked. When she finished, he walked in and sniffed the air, then nodded in satisfaction. He even smiled a little bit at her. Kay smiled back, then took his hand and led him to the kitchen table where Brin was finally setting down the food. His tiny eyes nearly popped out of his head when he smelled it, it smelled delicious. Brin grinned down at him.
"That's what most people do when I cook for them."
Kay laughed at her. "And I see it hasn't gone to your head at all."
Brin's face was filled with pure innocence. "Of course it hasn't."
Both women laughed, then started setting dishes down on the table. Soon enough, Julie came out of her room at the smell of food. She looked stunned to see Ray sitting at the table already, laughing as the two X5s joked with each other.
"Some say I'm a regular Emeril!"
"Who's that?"
Brin laughed so hard she had to set the plates in her hands down to keep from dropping them. Kay was completely perplexed as she stared at her.
"No, really. Who is he?"
Brin finally managed to get enough air in her lungs to explain. "He was a famous chef before the Pulse."
"Who was?" Ben's voice added to the laughter of the women. His hair was still wet and he was wearing jeans and a white tank top. Kay couldn't help but gaze at him in wonder, but had to stop when Brin smacked her lightly in the back of the head.
"Get your head out of the gutter, girl."
Kay blushed, then lost all control when Ray asked "How did she get her head in the gutter? I don't see one."
All the adults were hysterical now, even Julie. That morning was one of the best Kay had ever had, and she wished feverishly that it didn't have to end. Despite all her wishes, the day came on and everyone fell into their normal routine. Zack and Ben did most of the physical work of chopping wood and fixing parts of the fence, while Kay and Brin worked with the horses, today with Ray looking on. He had begged Julie to let him watch, so she had finally given in and ran to town for errands so he could watch in peace. He was enjoying himself immensely, he loved the horses.
One of the younger horses that Kay was working on nearly ran through the part of the fence that Ben and Zack were currently working on. Kay managed to get him to turn before he went through, but it was close. Both men had jumped back to get out of the way, and now Zack had his arms crossed over his chest as he eyed the horse cautiously.
"I remember what happened the last time you rode a nervous horse like that."
"Relax, I plan on keeping my arm intact, thank you very much. Besides, that last one wasn't nervous, she was just all out stupid."
"Oh, well that will make me feel better now, won't it?"
Brin rolled her eyes as she trotted her horse over. "Give me some pliers so I can yank that stick out of your ass!"
Both women galloped away as fast as they could. The look on Zack's face was priceless. Kay doubted many other X5s had ever talked to him like that, other than Max. Brin looked rather pleased with herself though, she hadn't thought she had it in her.
When they brought out the next couple horses to ride, Kay was bored. Usually they were working on young horses to keep them remembering how to ride, but they also had to ride the older horses so they could get some exercise. That was usually called 'loafing' just because there was no challenge to it. The older ones could do everything in their sleep. Kay and Brin were bringing out a couple of 'loafers' right now, Gramps and an old mare named Rose. Brin could see the look on Kay's face.
"Want to go for a trail ride with these two just for a change of scenery?"
"Oh God yes." Kay couldn't have been more relieved at the suggestion. That would at least be a bit more interesting.
The trails were a little hard this morning since it was so cold right now, but it was nothing the horses couldn't handle. Brin was right, the change of scenery was nice. They made small talk along the way just for an occasional break in the silence, but otherwise just kept their mouths shut and enjoyed the ride. It wasn't until they reached a long, flat stretch of land that they broke out of the quiet routine.
"Want to see which one of these old farts can make it to the other side of the field the fastest?" Brin's devilish look was something Kay hadn't seen before. She found herself grinning back.
"Alright, but I'm telling you Rose is going to run poor old Gramps into the ground."
Brin reached down and patted Gramps' neck. "Oh, I think he'll do just fine. This old boy has more in him than you give him credit for."
They lined the two horses up and Brin held out her fingers to count. Three...two...one! Both of them took off, Rose easily taking the lead. The girls couldn't help but laugh, these two running looked pretty damn funny. Kay was surprised they had even gotten them to run through here, the grass was probably up to her hip. Suddenly, she heard Brin cry out in surprise. When she turned her head to look, Gramps was climbing back to his feet and Brin was nowhere in sight.
"Brin?"
"Down here," Brin grumbled from her new position on the ground. It was almost impossible to see her through the grass.
"What happened?"
"I think he tripped over something."
Kay jumped off Rose's back and walked over to where Gramps was standing. His reins were all tangled up with his legs so he was forced to stay where he was. Kay guessed he couldn't be standing all that far from where he had fallen. She walked around in little circles until her foot bumped sharply into something cold and hard. With all the flies buzzing around, Kay couldn't believe she hadn't found it right away.
"I thing there's something dead here," Kay said, shooing flies away with her hand.
"Really?" Brin climbed to her feet and walked over. "What is it?"
"I can't tell. I can't see it through the grass and the flies."
Kay crouched down and pushed the grass aside with her arm. When her eyes landed on what was on the ground, she gasped out loud and fell back onto her butt.
"What do you see?" Brin asked impatiently, leaning down to make it out. Her eyes widened when she saw it. "Isn't that the guy who was with White last time?"
Kay nodded, still trying to slow her heart down. It wasn't like she'd never seen a dead body, she just wasn't expecting to see one right now. Greg's face was still recognizable through the piles of flies on his face, and it was obvious what had killed him. His face was pointed up at Brin and Kay, but his body was laying on its stomach.
"Would one of the Familiars have done this?"
Kay shook her head. The Familiars were cruel, but they wouldn't kill one of their own. "I'll bet anything it was the Reds. He probably got in their way."
"Why wouldn't they take him? Transgenic blood and Familiar blood is different, but I'll bet their blood would keep the Reds alive longer just as easily as ours would."
"Maybe they didn't know what he was. A lot of people don't know about the cult, I doubt the Reds do either."
"Let's tie the horses up."
"What? Why?"
"This guy's body is awfully close to the farm, we need to know where they are. I see no better time than the present to find out."
Kay was speechless, but she could see Brin's point. It wasn't going to do them any good to wait. Soon both horses were tied to trees at the edge of the field and the two X5s were moving on foot back to Greg's body. Kay was the first one on the ground, searching for clues as to which direction the Reds had gone.
"Okay, that mark there must have been made by Gramps when he fell, I came over from that way so we know that's not the path. You were right there...this must be where they came from." There were some blades of grass pushed to the side to their right. It had been windy lately, so the path wasn't as clear as it could have been, but it was still good enough to follow. It was Brin who grabbed Kay's arm a minute later to point something out.
"There's blood on this tree. I think that guy might have been running from them." Sure enough, there was a red tint to the branch of a tree that was hanging in the path. Most likely Greg hadn't been paying much attention to where he was going and it scratched him as he passed.
"Why would he have been running from them? The Familiars seem to have a habit of thinking they're unstoppable, I have a hard time picturing one of them running from a group of muscle-bound idiots."
"He might have found out how strong they are."
"That just doesn't explain enough. How would he have crossed paths with them in the first place?"
Brin didn't have an answer for that. It wasn't too long before there were definite signs of a struggle. Every now and then they'd pass patches of grass that had been smashed flat against the ground, sometimes even with some blood in the area. It almost made Kay laugh to think of how Manticore would have punished them for leaving such an obvious trail and not covering their tracks better. Finally, they reached what looked like a shed in the middle of some brush. It would have been nearly impossible to see by the normal eye, but it was easily seen by Brin and Kay. Kay moved to the edge of it and pressed her ear against the cold tin.
"He didn't give us the information we needed. Are there any others like him in the area?"
"Not that we've seen."
"Damn purebloods. They can hide themselves too easily. Don't they have any defining marks?"
"They have a Caduceus burned into their left forearm, but that's not all that easy to check for except for the more careful ones might avoid wearing short sleeves."
"That doesn't exactly narrow it down. I want to know where the key to the Coming is, and I want to know as soon as possible."
Kay pulled her ear away from the shed and looked at Brin in shock. She signaled for them to get away from here so they could talk. Brin nodded and followed her back to the field where the horses were.
"What did they say?"
"Well, they know about the Familiars. They call them purebloods. They want to know about the Coming."
"What is it?"
"I don't know, that's something Max has been trying to find out. All she says she knows for sure is that it's bad news for normal people. The Reds must have something to gain from it or they wouldn't be trying to find out where the key to it is."
"Does that mean they already know what it is?"
"Probably."
"What do they mean about the key?"
"I think they mean it figuratively, not as a real key in the most literal sense. What it is though, I have no idea and I have the feeling I don't want to know."
Ben saw the look on her face when she came in that night. "What's wrong?"
Kay fell onto the couch and leaned against him. "Just more trouble that no one asked for."
"Want to talk about it?"
Kay smiled up at him. "Not really."
He returned her smile and looked questioningly at the bedroom, then back at her. His eyes were lit up in a way that made his face really come alive and Kay loved to see it.
"Are you hinting about something?" she teased good-naturedly.
"Who, me?" He stood up and picked her up in one easy move. Brin popped her head into the door just as Ben shut the door to the bedroom. She grinned ruefully at the closed door.
"She sure has no problems getting over bad news."