Chapter 54: Mike the Mad

I reached down and tried the handle. It was locked. Mike was certainly inside. I didn't want to just tear it open. Besides, if I did the wrong thing, I might hurt Erin. There had to be a way to call Mike out. If the shelter was as heavy as I thought, sound would even be locked out. In fact, if it was meant to keep occupants that safe, then there had to be air vents. Again, I didn't want Erin to suffer. I had left the program in the car with Renée and she wouldn't arrive for a bit. I heard the screen door of Juan's house open.

"How do I get him out?" I asked him.

He just shook his head. "He'll come out when he's ready, I guess."

"Did you call the police?"

He nodded.

"Good." I turned back to the concrete fixture. "Is there any kind of air vent to this?"

"Why?"

"Because he has my girl down there, raping her. Did he ever tell you about Erin?"

Juan nodded. "Yeah, but he never said anything about her with another guy."

"She dumped him about a month ago. She and I have been together a few days."

"How do you know she's in there? He might have found some other girl."

That was true and without giving up any real information I couldn't explain it to him any better than the police. "She went missing a couple of hours ago. Mike's been harassing her. Some friends and I have checked his place and someone told me about yours." It was still a simple possibility.

"Shit," Juan said. He didn't like others finding out his secret, but Mike had exploited it. Now the police were going to be involved. He was going to have a lot to answer for.

"You don't have to be involved if you know a way in. I can vouch for you with the police; tell them you helped me get Mike away from Erin."

He nodded, "Hold on," and he went back in. I waited, still looking for some way to open the door or convince Mike to open it for me. Juan returned with some kind of tool. He went around to the back of the structure. "This key is used when a storm is over but the occupants don't know. There are lights in there but the concrete's too thick for a radio." He worked at the key, turning it like a small crank. Then I heard the locks click. "Give the handle a pull, it should be unlocked."

I did and it was. The door was heavy but I pulled it wide with only one hand. "Erin! It's Ral! Are you down there?"

Erin screamed. Mike called out, "Who's there?"

I started to take the first step, but Mike was up the steps and slamming into me fast. I must have flown back a dozen feet before slamming into the ground.

"Ha! Take that lover boy! You ain't taking my girl. Erin's staying here with me, so get lost."

He turned to go back down the steps. "Juan, give me that key. No one's to disturb us till I'm done." Juan was blinking wildly at what he'd witnessed. He held out the key and Mike took it. Mike turned back to me with the key in his hands, balling it up like so much paper.

I got up. "We're not finished Mike. You want to go back down those steps you'll have to do better than that."

He grinned. "Fine. I've been looking for a good workout." He started walking back toward me. He wore only a pair of shorts, not even shoes. If he knew how to fight, I would too soon.

I watched his movements speed up and my adrenaline slowed him back down. Just like my run to get to the house, he took on the speed of a slow motion movie. It wasn't as slow as Renée's movements or the passing cars though. He had some speed, but I was still outmaneuvering him. I caught his thrusting fist, twisted his arm back and pinned it to his back. While I held his shoulder and wrist, I took his memories.

Mike had been visited by a dark-haired beauty late last night. Vikkor had explained that he could have his girl back with the program that was on the disk. All he had to do was install it on his computer, give himself some strength and a couple of other abilities to not be noticed and she would be his. Mike took it and was wide awake, bumping up his strength, his speed, his knowledge of fighting and his sexual equipment. He wanted to be the man Erin wanted and would give her more dick than any kid could offer. He'd convince her that he was the only guy she would ever need.

That knowledge of fighting filled me too and I felt like I had been in Judo and Tai-Kwon-Do classes for years. With the same speed I had used to trap his arm, I slipped my foot in front of his and used the leverage to pound him into the grass. Mike struggled, pushing himself up with his one free arm. I sat on his back, but it wasn't making any difference. I wasn't heavy enough to stop his effort. I was strong enough to hold his arm, maybe even break it, but I couldn't keep him from lifting me off the ground.

He pulled at his pinned arm and though I held on, he threw me away from him and stood. "You are fast kid, but I'm still gonna beat you silly."

As he approached, I got up. We were on fairly even footing as far as knowledge of how to fight and strength, but I had the edge in speed. He threw punches and kicks but hit nothing but air. I didn't bother blocking him; I just didn't remain where he thought I was.

I waited, timing his movements and found openings to strike, hitting his body's weak points just inside the arms, thighs, points on the chest and gut. I probably looked like I was rapid fire punching just to keep from getting hit, but I knew from the fake classes that each hit was painful and distracting. Finally I socked him right in the nose, sending out a spray of blood and he fell back on the grass.

He wiped away the blood and grinned at me. "That's it. Give me a good fight, cause Erin's gonna be begging for the lovin' I've given her. She didn't fight me and opened right up." He got up as he distracted me with what he was saying. "You shoulda heard her squeal and beg me to fuck her like the whore she is."

I could feel myself shaking, getting more and more upset. Mike was trying to piss me off and it was working. There were so many moves I could do that would kill him; so many choices on how to keep him from doing anything to her or anyone else ever again. I wanted to shove my fist right through his skull and I probably had the strength to do it. I could squish his head like bad fruit and I would love it.