The Demon Drivers BOOK V - Ch. 3 Poisoned
The Demon Drivers BOOK V
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Parker heard Bubba’s voice in his head say, “You have to think positively.”
He sighed. He didn’t want to admit it, but he knew Bubba was right. Nevertheless, he had a hunch it was not going to be a good day.
He examined his legs and feet once more. The bloody gouges were gone. He was unharmed. He looked up at the ceiling, expecting to see the poster of Transcendental Tal standing in the fighter jet, but then he remembered she was back home at Sky City South. Maybe he should put her above this bed, too. He wondered if her posters were for sale somewhere in Candyland. I won’t have to steal this one. Sunny and Bubba will probably tease me about it, though. Again. Perhaps he wouldn’t allow them into his room.
He dropped to the floor, gathered his uniform and toiletries, and headed for the showers.
The boys’ bathroom was lined on all sides with gleaming yellow tile. A long row of sinks filled one wall facing a series of individual shower stalls. The toilet stalls and urinals were located in a smaller equally yellow room around the corner. Parker had the bathroom entirely to himself. He had hoped to run into Bubba. Bubba and Igby had been spending a lot of time together and he felt as though he hadn’t seen Bubba much. This did not help the feelings of isolation and loneliness he’d been experiencing since. . . . Since mom died and dad left me, murmured a small voice inside him.
After a hot shower, he brushed his teeth. There was no Colby Max toothbrush or blue Colby Max toothpaste; just regular mint-flavored red-and-white striped toothpaste that did actually resemble stripes on a candy cane. Parker gathered his things and returned to his room.
He dressed, donning a clean uniform, and memories of the night before came flooding back to him. Parker slumped down on the edge of the bottom bunk bed. He felt the energy departing his body. Suddenly he did not want to go upstairs. He didn’t want to face his friends. They would sense something was wrong with him, especially Sunny, and he wasn’t about to tell them how General Ramsey had nearly had him eliminated because he’d tried to abandon them in the middle of the night. Maybe he would go up to the Main Hangar. He could climb into his Battle-suit and if anyone asked any questions he could lie about General Ramsey giving him orders. He had been made Flight Leader, after all. The sight of him upstairs with his Battle-suit during business hours would likely be construed as perfectly normal. And, he realized, the hangar doors would likely be open. If he simply flew away, who would stop him? He would be gone before anyone realized what had happened.
He realized then that he didn’t want to do even that. He’d already promised himself that he would not abandon his friends, but all he wanted to do was get back into bed, crawl beneath the sheets and stare at the wall. Let them see how far they could get against Dr. Red without him.
He looked at the pillow. Flat and uninspired as it was, it looked inviting.
A voice sounded in his mind. It was Bubba doing an impression of Mrs. Black, a high-pitched southern lilt, warm but stern: Parker, put your big-boy pants on.
Anger surged inside him and he wanted to lash out, though he wasn’t sure at whom or at what. His stomach knotted up and his hands clenched into fists. It was times like this he went to the arcade and climbed into the Go-Boy simulator and spent a few hours strafing enemy ground targets and blasting bogeys clean out of the sky, going head-to-head with squadrons, armies, nations, wreaking havoc everywhere he went, killing, killing, killing. Then killing some more.
Though it was the last thing he wanted to do, Parker forced himself to get up off his bed. He left his room and walked to the elevator. He tapped the call button and the doors slid open. Once inside, he looked at the control screen. He could just as easily go to the Main Hangar as he could to the Mess Hall. He could just as easily take his Battle-suit and fly away as he could eat a bowl of cereal.
Promises, promises. . . .
Parker tried to ignore the voice. The nightmare seemed to have wiped away the joy he’d felt last night after his newfound resolve to stay with his friends. It was as if the black sludge in the pit had poisoned his very soul, and now he wanted only to flee.
He looked around the elevator. There were lots of nuts and bolts and fixtures and finishings, lots of places to conceal a tiny surveillance camera. He looked up. An odd-looking screw was affixed to the overhead light. It could be a surveillance camera.
Was General Ramsey spying on him again? If he went to the Main Hangar, what would the General do? What could he do? He himself had boasted of Go-Boy’s firepower. The only weapons the General had were the other Battle-suits.
The other kids would never agree to fight him. Not that they would stand much of a chance if they did.
Parker tapped the screen and the elevator doors quietly closed.
Next chapter coming Saturday!