The Vigilantes (The Superiors) Read Online Free

himself, and tried to remember if he’d ever noticed Cali ’s feet. She’d never worn shoes, but he guessed at her size, choosing the next size up from his guess. Better to err on the larger side. He put a package of wool socks in the bag for each of them, as well as two pairs of thin gloves, and at the last minute he added a package of women’s underpants to his pile.
    Buying underpants for a sap made him feel a bit strange, but he knew she wore them. He didn’t know if most livestock owners attired their saps in Superior clothing, but he doubted it. He didn’t know where to get appropriate clothing for them, though, as he’d only seen them wear the regulation shifts the government provided. It seemed convenient to get her Superior clothes, since she was made the same way.
    After purchasing the clothing, Draven bought maps, another backpack, lighters, and a few other camping items. He had little confidence in his batteries lasting until he found Byron, since he drove all night every night. He purchased food for both himself and Cali , registering so he could receive another week of rations in advance. He chose the lightest food he could find—freeze dried in packets—and lots of water purification tablets. If a Superior got sick, although it would prove unpleasant, he’d recover quickly. If a sap fell ill, she might die, or at least remain incapacitated for some time.
    After stocking up and sleeping six hours, Draven returned to the road. He had two fully charged batteries, weeks’ worth of food and clothing, and two backpacks. Grateful for the longer hours of darkness than in the Funnel, Draven took advantage. Darkness made driving much more pleasant. He’d also purchased a solar charger for his car batteries so his car would renew itself while he slept each day. It had cost more than he liked, and he’d debated whether to make the purchase. But he imagined Byron had one already, and if Draven didn’t purchase one, he’d lose ground every few days when his batteries ran out. So he bought the charger and tried not to think about the dwindling supply of money in his lock-box.
    Draven’s first battery ran out on a steep hill, which proved quite thrilling, as he had to drive backwards down the hill, the Mert flying faster and faster along the winding road. Like most Superiors, Draven didn’t concern himself much with safety. After all, he was nearly immortal. What was a little car wreck once in a while? However, he didn’t want further delays, so he tried to keep the car on the road. He changed the battery and continued.
    Inside his car the next day, he slept wrapped in a blanket and a foil-lined sleep sack to keep his body temperature as regular as he could. Of course he couldn’t die from exposure, but he became uncomfortable at very low temperatures. As he continued into higher altitudes, freezing had become a danger as well. While he slept, rain fell steadily on the roof. At first the sound bothered him, but once he’d grown accustomed to it, he found it triggered a vague sense of comfort from a time long forgotten.
    He slept well that day and awakened after dark. His battery had not charged. A thick layer of ice had encompassed the car while he slept. Sometime during the day, the rain had frozen but continued to fall. Draven broke out with some difficulty, and though afterwards his door wouldn’t close the way it once had, he imagined the Memory Metal would regain its original shape soon enough. After breaking out of the car, he managed to chip away enough ice to see through the windshield. The road had become slick, and many times he slid against the guardrail or against the mountain or into a drift of snow on the other side of the road. He spent as much time pushing the Mert back onto the road that night as he spent driving. The car had used half the battery by morning, but it didn’t matter anymore by then.
    He had come to a place where a rockslide or an avalanche had covered the road. Rocks and