The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Twelve

With his drone flying high above him, he continued on course making considerable progress. He had survived the dunes and the nasty sand storm. The next stage of his journey was the abandoned city.

After riding several hours in the golden sands, he was beginning to be lulled into a false sense of security. So far there were relatively few dangers on his voyage. He had an insanely fast bike with every gadget imaginable, was one of the most skilled riders in the world, and was heavily armed. The more he thought about the dangers, the more confident he became.

In his heads-up display, Kade was alerted to movement several kilometers ahead. As he approached closer, he was able to get more information. When he was less than a hundred yards away, he was able to pick up the digital signature of a woman. A silhouette of a slender woman appeared along with some basic biometric data — approximate height, weight, and BMI. This was far less information than what most digital signatures looked like, especially with Kade's equipment. He was usually able to bypass the privacy settings and see nearly every detail about a person. However, her signature was wiped clean, which was a red flag.

Kade wondered what she was doing all the way out in the middle of the desert by herself, without any transportation or supplies, barely able to stand. Kade was clever to these sorts of tactics — some cute damsel pretends to be in distress, waiting for some poor sap to come along and rescue her. She was surely bait for a trap that Kade had no intention of falling for.

As he passed her, she began frantically waving before collapsing face first. Kade raced passed her in a flash until she became just another blip on his radar. A slight smirk came across his face as he uttered to himself, "Nice try."

Kade continued on, but then thought about what his mother would do. His moral compass kept drawing him to the woman. 'What if she truly needed help?' he thought. 'Nah.' Kade then thought about his mother and the woman on the street. He continued to go back and forth in his mind until his conscience got the better of his rationality.

He slowed to a stop and looked around. He was on the outskirts of the dunes and could see the abandoned city ahead. 'Where did this woman come from?' he thought. 'Who or what is she running from?' Kade checked the time. A large holographic timer appeared in his display, giving the illusion that it was projected ten feet in front of him. Each second that passed reminded him that he didn't have a lot of time to spare.

'If she were part of a trap, then where are the others?' he wondered. There weren't any others around and she did not appear to be armed. He kept debating.

Kade readjusted on his bike, spun it around in the sand, creating a large rooster tail, and took off in the direction he had just come from. Against his better judgement, he just couldn't live with himself if she truly was in need of his help. 'If I'm a sap, then I'm a heavily armed sap.'

As he approached the woman, he reduced his speed. She was lying face down and not moving. He parked his bike, dismounted, and withdrew his weapon. Looking around, he approached with caution. There really weren't any places to hide, which set his mind at ease. If she came from where he was going, then perhaps she could provide him with valuable information.

'Are you okay?' he spoke into his helmet. The audio file along with a chat request was sent instantly to the girl. He could tell she accepted the message and listened to it. A connection was established as he hung back about twenty feet, on high alert for any surprises that may come up. He didn't have to wait long until a reply came back. He accepted the message and a soft voice permeated throughout his helmet. 'Please, I need help. Water.'

Kade analyzed those five words before responding, looking for any clue that she may be being deceitful.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked.