The Rider (Complete)

Chapter Eighteen

In the early morning hours, Cali led Kade to find some clothing, not just to cover himself, but to blend in. Entering the locker room of an abandoned high school, Kade felt a sense of nostalgia. There were wood benches, metal cage lockers, and a faded Cougars mural still visible on the cinder block wall. In each of the lockers hung stale fabric that smelled just as bad as they looked.

"Here, put these on," Cali said, tossing Kade some scavie garb.

"Are you going to turn around?"

"Why, it's nothing I haven't seen before."

"Whatever."

Kade dropped his towel and began to layer himself with the torn rags. The cloth draped off him and he looked every bit the part of a scavie.

"Your face too," Cali said.

"You want me to cover my mouth with this disgusting rag? Who knows where this has been?"

"Unless you want to get caught, I suggest you get over your fear of odours and wrap that cloth around your face."

As much as Kade wanted to disagree, Cali had a point. He reluctantly covered his face with the cloth and began to breath.

"See it isn't so bad," Cali said with a smirk.

"It's worse than I thought. I think this part of the fabric used to cover someone's armpit."

"Ah, no wonder, you put it on upside down. That's the loincloth."

Kade immediately unraveled the cloth and gasped for air. Cali couldn't help but laugh. Kade balled up a mouthful of saliva and spit it on the floor.

Still amused, Cali confessed that she was just messing with him. "Come on, wrap up. We have to go."

"Where are we going?"

"To get your bike."

When they exited the locker room, something caught Kade's attention.

"Whoa, what's that?" he asked. His attention was fixed on the pool area.

"Oh, that's the tree farm. It's how we get our oxygen."

"Let's check it out."

"We don't have time," Cali insisted.

"It'll just be a sec."

Walking toward the pool room, Kade's eyes darted around trying to take in everything. The Olympic-sized pool was emptied of water and filled with dirt. Inside was a small forest of trees and other plant life. The entire thing was covered in plastic from the floor to the ceiling, which stretched up over fifty feet. Mounted on the ceiling were several large hydroponic lights that lit up the otherwise dark room. Cables and tubes snaked around strange equipment that connected from the indoor greenhouse to several large tanks.

"Oxygen comes in, gets funnelled through these tubes, and then goes into those tanks."

"It's incredible," Kade said in awe.

"I've been here so long that I take it for granted."

"I've heard about these tree farms, but I've never seen one before."

"We have several of these all over town. This is actually one of the smaller ones. We have one that takes up an entire warehouse. In fact, we have several of those."

"You guys must be rich. Why then do you resort to a life of petty crime?"

"Robbing people is more of a pastime. Not too many are foolish enough to come to these parts alone. No offense."

"None taken."

"We should go. Come on, follow me."

Cali rushed out of the pool area and down a series of halls. Kade tried his best to keep up, but his body was badly bruised. Each step made him wince in pain.

Cali and Kade entered the gymnasium, which had been converted into an equipment room. There were tables full of weapons and gear, with tools and parts scattered every which way. It looked like a messy mechanic shop crossed with a junkyard. Amid all the scrap metal, machinery, and salvaged cars was Kade's bike.

"I remember seeing it somewhere," Cali said in a whisper. "Unless they moved it."

"We should split up," Kade suggested in the same hushed tone.

"No, we stick together."

Together they moved silently through the heap, using on the faintest of morning light coming through the window to guide their way.

Navigating through the equipment room was challenging. There were a lot of things to bump into and alert someone of their presence. As Kade passed by a tool bench, he picked up a knife and tucked it under his robe.

"Is that it over there?" Cali asked.

"It's tough to say," Kade said, craning his neck. The jet-black bike was difficult to spot, but they made their way toward it. Just then, Kade's robe snagged a tool from one of the tables and dragged it to the floor. The large piece of metal smashed to the ground, creating a loud ruckus that echoed throughout the gym.

Cali spun around and glared at Kade with a stunned look. There was fear in her eyes, which was something Kade had never seen on her before. This in turn caused him to be even more concerned.

"We need to go now!" Cali said.