Nolan's Ark Read online

  “Who?” Axel said. “Who did you become back then?”

  “The best fighter in the world,” Nolan said. “No bully would ever dare mess with that guy right?”

  “Yeah,” Axel said. “But a lot of kids get bullied at school Nolan. They don’t all end up becoming misan–whatevers in later life.”

  “Misanthropes.”

  “Yeah.”

  There was a short silence as Goliath rolled over a series of speed bumps.

  “Hey Nolan,” Axel said.

  “Yep.”

  “Wasn’t there something else? Something else that made you like this?”

  Nolan felt that knot in his guts biting again. Like it had shark teeth. “What are you saying Axel?”

  Axel’s voice retreated further down the aisle. Sounded like the kid was backing off. “Wasn’t there a…wasn’t there a car crash? Like a really long time ago?”

  Nolan’s body went as stiff as a board. “I don’t talk about that. Sorry.”

  “Nah my bad man. I’m sorry.”

  Nolan squeezed the wheel tight as Goliath drove past a block of stores on the right. He looked over that way. The building was cut like a U-shaped barracks with a car park in the center. There was a pharmacy, liquor store and several takeout joints amongst other things in the mini-mall. As the MBT drove past, three masked youths were hacking their way through the front window of a second-hand electronics store, using lead pipes and bats to break the glass. When they saw Goliath they stopped what they were doing and bounced up and down on their toes, throwing their arms in the air like they’d just seen Santa Claus swooping in to deliver their Christmas presents.

  Nolan waved back. He kept his eyes on the looters as they turned their attention back to business, storming through the…

  “LOOK OUT NOLAN!”

  Axel’s voice wrenched Nolan’s attention back to the front.

  “Holy shit!” he yelled.

  Four people were standing in the middle of the road, waving their arms in a frantic bid to stop the incoming Goliath.

  Nolan slammed his foot down on the brake pedal. Goliath shrieked as it skidded to an emergency stop in the middle of the road.

  Axel yelped as he was thrown to the floor.

  “Fucking idiots!” Nolan barked. “You okay kid?”

  “Yeah,” Axel said, getting back to his feet. “I’m fine.”

  Nolan stood up off the driver’s seat, leaning towards the windshield. “What the hell? Is it Halloween or something?”

  The four people he’d almost turned into pancakes were dressed up in superhero costumes. The costumes were bizarre to say the least. They were colorful too and Nolan couldn’t help but sense there was something familiar about them.

  There were three men and one woman standing outside. One of the men, whose head was capped with a giant bird beak, stood protectively in front of the woman. The woman, who was in her mid-twenties at most, had a horned helmet on her head and a long black cape, wrapped around her upper body. Nolan saw the hint of a reddish tunic and a coat of chain mail underneath the cloak. The other two men, one dressed all in black like a ninja, and the other with a bizarre combination of cowboy clothes and samurai armor, had also thrown themselves in front of the woman.

  “You seeing this” Nolan asked. “Or did somebody put LSD into my drink earlier tonight?”

  Axel’s face was now inches away from the glass. He put his hands out like he was reaching for them.

  “I don’t believe it,” he said. “Is that…?”

  “What?” Nolan asked.

  A pause.

  “Holeeeeee sheeeeiiit,” Axel said, his mouth hanging open. He was laughing again. “It is! It’s them Nolan it’s them! It’s the Retaliators – all four of them. Look it’s Eagle Boy, Typhoon, Cowboy Samurai and Viking Chick. Christ on a bike Nolan, you almost wiped out the most lucrative superhero movie franchise in history.”

  “Uh-huh,” Nolan said.

  “I wonder why they’re running around in their costumes,” Axel asked with a frown.

  Nolan looked at his own outfit and shrugged. “Maybe these guys were at the Paramount party too,” he said. “Who knows? I wasn’t exactly paying much attention. And just maybe after the shit hit the fan they thought they had a better shot of flagging a ride dressed like…that.”

  Axel’s eyes lit up. “Do they?”

  “Nope.”

  “Oh c’mon Nolan,” Axel said, pointing outside. “You can’t be serious man. You can’t leave the Retaliators out on the streets like that. They’re like Hollywood royalty man. The crazies will tear them to shreds just for fun. Like literally man!”

  Nolan was only half-listening. He made a sweeping gesture with his hand, signaling to the four people on the road.

  “Get out the way!”

  There was no response. The Retaliators stood out there like statues, like rabbits caught in Goliath’s tractor beam headlights. They were staring towards the cabin with wide, pleading eyes.

  “Ah c’mon!” Nolan yelled, falling back into his seat. He hit the steering wheel with the palm of his hand. “Shit, what is it with these guys? Do they want me to plow straight through them or what?”

  Eagle Boy, whose costume also boasted a giant set of white angel-like wings sprouting out at the back, stepped forward. His clean-cut, handsome face was vaguely familiar to Nolan.

  “Please,” he called, arms outstretched at both sides. The wings at his back twitched with his every move. “Will you help us?”

  Nolan revved the engine. “Get off the road bird shit.”

  “We need to talk to you,” Eagle Boy said, walking towards Goliath. As he left the group to approach Goliath, Typhoon and Cowboy Samurai stayed with Viking Chick. “Please, it’s not safe out here and we’re desperate. We need to get off the road and with good reason. If you’ll just let me talk to you for a minute I’ll explain everything.”

  “Fuck off,” Nolan growled.

  His foot caressed the gas pedal, edging Goliath forward at a crawl. As the MBT began to roll towards the Retaliators, Nolan slammed the horn again, this time pounding it with a hammer fist. The MBT belched an angry warning.

  But the Retaliators stood their ground.

  “What the hell are you doing Nolan?” Axel said. His fast-blinking eyes skipped back and forth between Nolan and the four superheroes turned human roadblock.

  “You can’t kill The Retaliators man – it’s the Retaliators for God’s sake!”

  “Never tell me what I can and can’t do Axel,” Nolan said.

  He put pressure on the gas and Goliath picked up the pace. The gap between the MBT and the superheroes decreased further.

  “Who needs a sixteenth Retaliator movie anyway?” Nolan said. “If you ask me I’ll be doing the world a favor.”

  Eagle Boy let out a scream that was appropriately bird-like. He backed off towards his companions and at the same time the two dogs in the back began to bark furiously.

  “Nolan!” Axel said. “Stop for God’s sake man, you’re going to go straight through them.”

  Nolan was firm on one thing in his mind. The Retaliators would either get off the road or they’d get crushed under the wheels of Goliath. No vacancies for a conscience, he told himself. Remember? These assholes were in his way, blocking his path towards Rage.

  And tonight that was unforgivable.

  “Have it your way,” he said, narrowing his eyes.

  He slammed his foot down and Goliath roared. Then he touched the brake quickly, bringing the MBT to a halt.

  “Final warning,” Nolan said. “I’m not holding back next time.”

  Outside, Typhoon and Eagle Boy stepped aside. That left a terrified-looking Cowboy Samurai standing in the middle of the road beside Viking Chick. The two of them were directly in Goliath’s path.

  “Stop!” a voice from outside yelled. “Please stop!”

  “No,” Nolan said.

  He was about to floor it again when Cowboy Samurai reached over and pulled away the cloak wrapped around Viking Chick’s body. He was like a magician, revealing the final part of a magic trick.

  “Goodnight assholes,” Nolan said. He hit the gas and Goliath charged towards the Retaliators.

  Then Nolan saw the bump on her belly.

  “STOP!” Axel screamed.

  Chapter 8

  Kasey couldn’t take her eyes off the dying man.

  He was hanging ten meters off the ground in the shadow of the Whisky a Go Go. The rope squeezing his neck had been fastened around the lower of two metal beams jutting out from a tall streetlight, just a stone’s throw from the Whisky’s front door. Above his head a set of traffic lights went through the motions of a normal day.

  The Rolling Stones logo on the man’s t-shirt expanded and contracted as he put his whole body behind the struggle for one more breath. His legs kicked furiously and he spat out a series of choking noises. Kasey couldn’t stand it. Death, which had been rampant all night, was taking its time.

  The crowd on Sunset Boulevard watched in shocked silence. They’d been rowdy enough as the Secret Service had weeded out the bearded troublemaker but despite all the insults and posturing, no one had intervened at the man’s arrest. No one stood up, no one said a thing. Kasey’s opinion was that some part of them still clung to the idea of authority and the fear of consequences that would come after them on the day after. The sharp suits, the guns – that made a difference didn’t it? Why else would they have allowed this to happen to the bearded man?

  The revolution had fizzled out.

  The crowd had no choice but to stick around and listen to Rage. The Secret Service had encircled the now tepid mob, repositioning themselves on the outskirts and shepherding the public closer to Jaws and also to the streetlight with the lifele
ss silhouette dangling from it.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” Rage said, addressing the crowd through the megaphone. His tone was blunt and to the point. “You all witnessed how this man behaved tonight. He was a hate-stirrer. This man didn’t want to be part of a democracy. This man didn’t want to rebuild, he wanted anarchy and in my mind and in the mind of anyone who loves America, that makes him as dangerous as the fighter jets dropping bombs on our heads.”

  A handful of people applauded.

  “This man made his choice,” Rage said. “Now it’s time ladies and gentlemen, to make yours. Whose side are you on? Are you on my side? Will you help reconstruct this beautiful country of ours? Ask yourself this - what do you want to see when you wake up in the morning? Do you want to see a once proud, majestic nation tearing itself apart from the inside? Or do you want to see a strong, unified America again? Even better, even stronger than the one before? I can promise you the latter if you vote for me tonight. I will not seize power like a tyrant. The choice is yours to make. This is what I guarantee – America will rise from the ashes one way or another. But what that new America looks like, only you can decide.”

  He pointed a finger to the sky.

  “I urge you my fellow Americans. Go to Hollywood Boulevard tonight and vote.”

  A sea of blank faces gawped at Rage.

  “Go now,” Rage said, sounding impatient. “Right now. Start walking and keep in large groups for your own safety. Tell everyone you meet what happened here and what they have to do.”

  Nobody in the crowd moved.

  “Go I said!” Rage yelled.

  The cold whirring noise on the other side of the glass made Kasey flinch. For a moment it sounded like she was on an airplane, listening to the extension of the slats and flaps in preparation of landing.

  She saw the gun barrels on both sides of Jaws being thrust forward.

  “Oh shit,” Kasey whispered. “No, not again. Please. Move you idiots. Move.”

  The Secret Service marched around the perimeter, signaling to the people that they could go. Having also noticed the gun barrels turning towards them, the crowd was more than willing to listen. The distraught citizens hurried away, retreating from the grim shadow of the Whisky a Go Go. They set off in packs, murmuring amongst themselves as they walked over the endless shards of of broken glass that covered the road.

  The bearded man stayed behind, hanging as a warning to all future dissenters.

  “Don’t forget to vote Rage,” the President said.

  Chapter 9

  Nolan stood at Goliath’s door, staring down at the four Retaliators. A stony expression was hidden behind his bandana.

  The superhero actors were huddled close together, waiting at the entrance for permission to climb aboard.

  “No,” Nolan said.

  “Let them in for God’s sake,” Axel said, hovering at Nolan’s back. “Lower the ramp will you?”

  “No.”

  “Please,” Typhoon said, peeling back his ninja balaclava to reveal a smooth-skinned boyish face. “We’ve got nowhere else to go. For Christ’s sake man we’ve got a pregnant woman here and you’re driving a monster truck here. You’ve got plenty of room don’t you?”

  “Monster Bus-Tank,” Viking Chick said, correcting her companion. “Goliath is a Monster Bus-Tank.”

  Typhoon shrugged. “Whatever Lisa. We need to get you off the street before these lunatics out here rip you to shreds.”

  Viking Chick was mostly silent as Typhoon and the others continued to plead their case with Nolan. She was a stunning woman, about twenty-five with long auburn braids that stretched down her back. The horned helmet on her head was ridiculous, Nolan thought, as well as historically inaccurate. He wondered why she hadn’t tossed the damn thing yet, especially if she didn’t want to stand out.

  Fucking actors.

  “It’s okay,” she said, cutting off the other Retaliators pleading their case. She glanced at Nolan for a moment. Then she turned to back to her companions.

  “It’s not fair,” she said. “We’re asking people to trust a bunch of weird-looking strangers, to let us on board their sanctuaries. I get it, I do. This is their safe place. Would we be so quick to open our doors to strangers on a night like this? In my condition, probably not.”

  She began to walk away, encouraging the others to follow. The three male Retaliators watched her go with horrified expressions.

  “We can’t just give up,” Cowboy Samurai said, calling after her.

  “Lisa,” Eagle Boy said, turning around. As he moved his wings swatted Cowboy Samurai in the face. “We’re never going to get a better chance than this. You understand? That’s why we didn’t run, not even when this guy almost went straight through us. We need this.”

  “Nolan!” Axel said. He came over and started tugging on Nolan’s arm. With a grunt, Nolan yanked his arm free and glared at the boy.

  “Don’t do that,” he said.

  “You can’t just let her go man,” Axel said, pointing towards the receding figure of Viking Chick. “She’ll die. Her baby will die for God’s sake. You want that on your conscience?”

  Nolan couldn’t look the kid in the eyes. He watched Viking Chick, a tall, graceful figure (apart from that fucking helmet!) fading into the crazy night. It smelled like the inside of an ashtray out there. How much smoke had she inhaled so far? How much smoke had the baby breathed in?

  “WAIT!”

  She kept walking.

  “I said wait.”

  Viking Chick stopped and turned around. Both hands cradled the bump hidden under her cloak.

  Nolan went over to the driver’s cabin. He leaned over the dashboard and slammed the ramp release button.

  “Get in.”

  The metal ramp lowered and a visibly relieved Eagle Boy hurried back to Viking Chick, took her arm and escorted her inside the bus. Typhoon and Cowboy Samurai followed.

  “Thank you,” Viking Chick said as she passed Nolan. She reached out and squeezed his arm, causing him to shiver.

  Christ, why was everyone touching him all of a sudden?

  The others also mumbled their thanks as the four Retaliators gathered awkwardly in the aisle. They took a quick look around, their eyes soaking up the luxurious interior of Goliath.

  “Up the back,” Nolan said, wafting them away like a bad smell. “Go into the apartment and stay there. And stay quiet. That’s the rules and if you don’t like them you can walk.”

  “Sure thing,” Eagle Boy said.

  The Retaliators made their way towards the back of the bus. The collies and cats, who had seemingly made peace with each other at last, watched from a variety of strategically selected vantage points – comfortable couches and tabletops – as these newcomers invaded their turf.

  The lilac and white collie jumped off the couch and trotted over towards Viking Chick, who extended her hand in greeting.

  “Aww he’s sweet,” Viking Chick said, rubbing the dog’s back. “Aren’t you baby? Are you a good boy?”

  “A good girl,” Nolan said, admiring her confidence with the dog. “The other one’s a boy. The two cats are both male. They’re brothers I think, judging by the resemblance.”

  Eagle Boy’s wings twitched. “Did they have to beg to get on the bus too?” he asked.

  “Nope.”

  Viking Chick straightened back up with a sigh. She wrapped her cloak tighter around her body, partially concealing the baby bump.

  “I’m a big fan of the show,” she said, smiling down the aisle at Nolan. “Your costume, especially now that I’ve seen it up close, kicks ass. So much better than the bargain basement crap we have to wear you know? Although I have to say, the inside of Goliath isn’t quite how I remember it on the show. It’s like a hotel in here.”

  “It’s great isn’t it?” Axel said, standing halfway down the aisle in between Nolan and the Retaliators. All his heroes under one roof, all dressed in costume. The kid was glowing like a sugar junkie in a candy shop.

  “It’s like a luxury apartment, only much, much cooler.”

  Eagle Boy turned to Nolan. His face was grim

  “What the hell happened tonight?”