Selected Assistant

by Robin Roseau

  “In and out with the tide?”

  “Yes.”

  “That sounds… scary.”

  “I think you understand,” she commented. “It’s why ships used to sail with the tide. And, of course, the river is flowing, but compared to the open ocean, or even the estuary, the river is tiny. It isn’t tiny, but in comparison.”

  “I think I understand. Is it pretty?”

  “The region is quite beautiful, and I love the city.”

  * * * *

  Priya pointed. “I think we should head that direction.”

  “It will be sunset soon.”

  She turned to face me. “Do you have a plan?”

  “No.”

  “Are we hiding or moving?”

  “I’d prefer more cover. Wouldn’t you?”

  “Cover?”

  “Trees. Somewhere that hiding might do us some good.”

  “Ah. And that is why we should go that way.”

  “There’s no trail.”

  “All the more reason to go that way. I thought you said you were going to do your best. I do not believe staying on a path is ‘doing our best’. Do you?”

  “Well, look at who is becoming competitive,” I said with a smile. “Why that way in particular?”

  “Because you see those two hills.”

  “Yes.”

  “In between those hills is a valley, and I think the valley has cover, as you put it. If not, the nearer hill will at least have a fabulous view. We can sit and wait to be caught.”

  I laughed. “You lead, then.”

  * * * *

  Dusk settled. It should have been darker. Priya commented on that. “Is it the visor?”

  “Probably,” I said. “I’m going to take mine off.” I did just that, looked around for a moment, and put it back on. “Yes. The visors are enhancing our vision.”

  “I think we should keep moving.”

  “I agree.”

  We reached the gap between the two hills. Priya had been right. The land sloped downward, and the trees grew decidedly heavier, but not so heavy we couldn’t continue. Priya turned to me. “Keep going,” I said.

  And so, we did.

  Twenty minutes later, we reached a massive, fallen tree. It was blocking our path. Priya shifted right and then climbed up onto the tree to sit down. I joined her, and we both quietly sipped at our water for a minute. “Thank you,” she whispered.

  “You’re welcome.”

  “I didn’t want to be out here alone.”

  “How far do you think we’ve walked?”

  “A few kilometers,” she replied.

  “It has to be further than that!”

  “Maybe five or six. Probably not much further.” She looked around then up at the tree canopy. The fallen tree had cleared a gap, but it was otherwise pretty thick. “I can’t believe we can still see.”

  “I bet without the visor, it’s pitch black. Do you think anyone has been caught?”

  “I wonder if we can convince the visors to tell us the score.” It hadn’t occurred to me to look. I accessed the menu system, and it took all of ten seconds to find ‘Hunt Standings’. “Do you know how to use it?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I learned during Testing.”

  “There’s an option for Hunt Standings.” I selected it. There was no information on the hunters, only for the prey. “There have been five captures.”

  “I see,” she said. “Two of the men and three women.” Felicia and Amanda were still free, according to the visor. “Genevieve was caught.” She paused. “Taisha, I do not believe I can walk through the night.”

  “Are you suggesting something?”

  “If you intend to walk all night, perhaps you will help me find a particularly good place to hide first.”

  I returned the visor to vision mode and turned to her. She was watching me. “Are you telling me you’re tired of me?”

  “No. Perhaps you would join me when I hide.” She paused. “That sounded like a come-on. It wasn’t meant that way.”

  “I think hiding might be a good plan, but we should get moving early.”

  She nodded. “What do you suppose makes a good place to hide?”

  “Somewhere soft.” She laughed. “I don’t know. Something we can disguise a little.”

  After that, we didn’t really talk. We drank a little more water, then she flipped her legs over the tree and jumped down. I followed suit, and we continued deeper into the forest.

  We found a stand of brush, thick, but with gaps near the ground. Priya actually squirmed her way into one of the gaps, then worked her way out. “What do you think?”

  “We have these sleeping sacks,” I said. “Assuming they won’t tear…”

  She shrugged out of her pack and found the sleep sack. I watched as she worked with it, opening it up and then shoving it through the gap. I didn’t think this was going to work. The space was too small. But I watched as she took off her boots and slipped her feet into the sack, still otherwise dressed. She squirmed around and slowly slipped deeper into her gap, finally disappearing nearly entirely. Things grew still. “Can you see me?”

  “No. Give me a minute.” I moved around. Her entrance was hard to find, and I couldn’t see the slightest sign anyone had been here otherwise. “You’re well-hidden, but there’s no room for me to join you.”

  “There was another spot,” she said. A hand appeared, and she pointed. “That way. Can you slide my boots and pack to me?”

  I did. The hand pulled them both in. From the outside, I pushed a little further, then moved some of the brush around, hiding things a little.

  It took me at least as long to make my own nest. Finally, exhausted, I settled in. It wasn’t as uncomfortable as it could have been, although it wasn’t horrible. “Do you think they’ll find us?”

  “I have no idea,” Priya replied. “I bet they can track the visors.”

  “It’s not a very challenging hunt if we’re all wearing tracking collars.”

  “I am only saying we do not know what technology they are using. They may know exactly where we are, or they may be limited to very raw methods. But we do not know who might stumble upon us or how aromatic we may be.”

  “True,” I said with a laugh. “Did you know foxes can hear mice under the snow?”

  “I didn’t know that,” she said. “And so, the Kitsune will find two little mice under the bush?”

  “She might,” I said. “I was only saying we don’t know how well any of them hear, either.”

  “Are you suggesting we shouldn’t talk to each other?”

  “No. I’m only suggesting we have no idea who is looking for us, if anyone, and how capable they may be.”

  “That makes planning difficult. It would take high technology or a very, very good tracker to find us, I think, if he were human.”

  We talked quietly for a while, although I was exhausted, and we grew quieter and quieter. Then Priya said, “I was ready to just sit down.”

  “I know.”

  “Thank you.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Those were our last words of the night.

  Taken

  “Are you awake?”

  “For a while,” I said. “You?”

  “No. I’m talking in my sleep. What do you think we should do?”

  “We could stay here.”

  “Is that what you think we should do?”

  “I think if we want to remain uncaught as long as possible, it’s our best plan.”

  “And yet, you haven’t answered my question,” she replied.

  “I don’t want to stay here,” I declared. “I’m a little stiff, but I want to walk it off.”

  “If they don’t find us by dinner, I’m climbing the most barren hill I can find and sitting down.”

  I laughed. “I’ll climb with you. Are you upset?”

  “No. But I do not want to spend a second night like this, either.”

  “Yeah, the beds back at th
e resort are far more comfortable. Even the bed in that horrid cell was better.”

  “Agreed,” she said. I heard her start moving around. “I don’t think getting out is going to be dramatically easier than getting in was.”

  * * * *

  We reached something Priya called a saddle. It was the crest of the ridge leading from the valley, although it was higher to both sides. Ahead of us were more hills. Without a word, we sat down. Priya pulled out an energy bar. I decided that was a good plan and did the same.

  We finished our energy bars. I waited for Priya to stand up. But instead, she sat, looking at the hills to our west. “You know the part that’s frustrating?”

  “What do you find frustrating?”

  “I had these really stupid fantasies.”

  “Oh?”

  “About Genevieve and me both being taken by the aliens. Together.” She turned to me and I could see the pain in her face. “That isn’t going to happen.” She gestured. “And this isn’t about that, either. I mean… we were taken, but not for mating. Just for a hunt. Catch and release.”

  “Would you want to be kept, if it were just you?”

  “I don’t know.” She looked away. “She doesn’t want me.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “What do you hope?”

  “I’m here for a job,” I replied. “I hope to be successful. I imagine I’ll go home afterwards.”

  “That’s not what I asked though,” she replied, turning back to face me. “What do you want?”

  “As in, do I want an alien woman to take a shine to me?”

  “Yes, I suppose that’s what I’m asking.”

  “I’ve thought about it.”

  “I bet you’ve thought about it quite a lot since your mermaid.”

  I smiled. “That’s probably true.”

  “The Kitsune is really cute, too.”

  “And soft. They’re not here for that. Would you want to go if Genevieve weren’t part of the deal?”

  “That would be one way to move past her.”

  I laughed. “Definitely true.”

  “I don’t know what I want. Talk about moving fast. They grab you on the beach or at the restaurant or out of your bed and say, ‘You’re marrying one of the extraterrestrials.’ And just like that.” She snapped her fingers. “You’re married.”

  “I’m not sure that’s exactly how it goes.”

  “Close enough. It would be an adventure.”

  “I thought you didn’t care for adventure,” I pointed out.

  “I don’t care for being yanked from my home by a sea monster,” she said. “Should we talk about who is more widely traveled?”

  “Fair enough,” I admitted. “The space station is the ultimate destination.”

  “Cold and dark,” she said. “I’d miss the sun. I’d miss Bordeaux.”

  “The wine.”

  “And the food. And, while I mean no offense, I prefer listening to French.”

  “American accents are harsh.”

  “English is English, but French is French,” she pointed out. I couldn’t really fault her. She gestured out at the view. “There could be worse places to be when they find us.”

  “I don’t think they’re looking.”

  “You haven’t checked the scores then.”

  She was right; I hadn’t. I accessed the visor, then found the standings. Of the eighteen of us, eleven had been caught, then, as I watched, it became twelve. There was a time listed for each person caught. The five last night had been caught over a 90-minute period beginning about an hour after the event had begun. There had been three more caught overnight, and the remaining three over the last hour, a little more.

  Then, as I was watching, the status for Amanda changed. “They just found my boss’s wife.”

  “Amanda Hunt?”

  “Yes.” I looked. The boy with her, Callum, was still free. I wondered if they had separated after all. I watched to see if his status changed, but then Priya said, “We should get moving.”

  I returned to vision mode. She was watching me. “I thought you were going to wait here.”

  She shook her head. “No. They’re looking for us, though.”

  “They might not be looking for us,” I said. “The longer this goes on, the larger the area they have to search.”

  “Do you suppose after they catch someone, they keep looking, or does the hunter retire?”

  “No idea.”

  “So, it could be thirty hunters all looking for the last few people, or it could be quite sparse.”

  “Yes. On the other hand, I bet they also cheat.”

  She laughed. “I suspect you’re right. Feel like climbing a hill, or stick to low ground?”

  “The hilltops are exposed, but it’s a good thing we’re not ultimately responsible for getting ourselves back to civilization.”

  “We could keep heading west.”

  “We’ll hit the Atlantic Ocean eventually.”

  “Turn right, and it’s only a few months of walking to reach France.”

  “There you go,” I said. “We have a plan.”

  She stood then offered me a hand. I accepted, and she pulled me into a hug. “Thank you.”

  “You don’t have to keep saying that.”

  “And yet, I might anyway.”

  * * * *

  It was another hour before Priya spun around. “What was that?” She looked past me.

  “What was what?”

  “That noise.”

  I’d been panting too heavily to hear much. I got my breathing under control and listened. I heard… something. I turned back to Priya. “Remember what I said about staying free 30 seconds longer than they decided to let us?”

  “Run?”

  “Quietly.”

  She turned and began jogging. Keeping an eye on her ass, which I realized I’d been doing a lot of, I followed her.

  And from behind us, the noise grew louder, the sound of giant footsteps. Giant footsteps.

  Then Priya came to a skidding stop. I slammed into her back, not quite enough to knock her over, I clutched at her, steadying both of us, then looked where she was pointing.

  Forty yards in front of us was a giant… Well, it wasn’t a robot. An exoskeleton, like a fighting suit from a science fiction movie. At the top I could see one of the Hobbles, but I couldn’t tell which one. But the suit raised an arm, pointing directly at us.

  Priya spun. “Run!”

  We took off. Then, from somewhere ahead of us, there was a noise, a buzz, a whirl, I’m not sure exactly. I tripped and fell nearly flat on my face, and at least for me, it was lucky I did, as something flew right over the top of me.

  That wasn’t so lucky for Priya, as it hit her square on. She gave a scream. I rolled out of her way then stood up and turned to her.

  There was… something... wrapped around her upper body. Her right arm was free. Her left was trapped, yanked tightly to her side. I ran to her and tried pulling her to run with me, but she came to a jerking stop.

  She said one word. “Go.”

  “Come on.”

  “I can’t. Go, Taisha. Run.”

  “I’m not leaving you.” I looked her over, ignoring anything else. If another one of these net things was about to be fired at me, it was going to get me.

  It was made of flexible cables, but they were pulled tightly about her, squeezing her, and when I walked around her, I could see they were attached at her back, and there was another cable, about eight feet long, the opposite end buried in the ground like a dog chain. I moved to that end and tried pulling it free. I could see the top of a spike, but it didn’t move, not even the slightest. “Priya.”

  “Go.”

  I moved back to her. I tried to figure out how to remove the net, but tugging and pulling did no good at all.

  The stomping moved closer, coming from two directions.

  “Taisha.”

  “I’m not leaving you like this.”

  “Look, si
ster,” said an amplified Hobble voice. “I was aiming for one, but I got the other instead.”

  “You’re stuck catching the bitchy one,” Priya said.

  “Oh, I’d have taken either of you,” May Blossom said. “Taisha was in front.”

  I finally gave up trying to free my friend. The two Hobbles were both in the fighting suits, ten feet tall, or thereabouts, both looking down at us. Neither of them had anything pointed at me. I stepped away from Priya. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

  “Limit one capture per pair of prey,” Cinder said. “That’s the biggest reason more of you aren’t already caught.” She paused, and her tone grew gentle. “Do you want us to draw you some attention?”

  “Why would I want that?”

  “I wasn’t sure if you were hoping this would be over.”

  I looked at one then the other. “What happens now?”

  “You may try to free her. If you do, we’ll give you a head start. Five minutes. Catching one of you a second time would be fun.”

  “Can she be freed without tools?”

  “No, but you’re free to try.”

  “How long will you let me try?” I asked.

  “As long as you want,” Cinder said. “But in two minutes, if you haven’t left, we’ll advertise your location.”

  “Just go, Taisha,” Priya said.

  I looked at her then back at Cinder. “What happens to her?”

  “She becomes ours until we free her,” Cinder replied. “Depending upon her mood, that could be as soon as we return to the Center.”

  “What if she would enjoy more time with you than that?”

  “Then she’ll still be ours by the time you next see her,” May said. “I’m surprised to find you both together.”

  “You can ask her how that happened, I guess.” I turned to Priya, then stepped closer. She wrapped her free arm around me, and we hugged.

  She kissed my cheek. “You were right about everything. Thank you for helping me see that.”

  “You’re welcome. Are you all right?”

  “I’m fine. Once I decided to make a real go at this, I’m glad we weren’t caught first.”

  “We did well.”

  “We did.”

  We tightened our hug then slowly released. May and Cinder stepped closer until they were looming over us. I looked up at May. “You’ll be kind?”