Botanicaust

by Linsey, Tam

  The men shackled him hand and foot, then Vitus took the lead and jerked it forward, urging him out of the cell. At the stairs, Levi looked up and locked eyes with Tula. Her brows pinched as she stepped in front of the escort.

  She and Vitus argued, and when Levi’s entourage tried to pass, she blocked the way, refusing Vitus passage. Her frantic tone confirmed Levi’s suspicion, and in his core, he was glad. She hadn’t told them about his attack.

  Vitus threw back his head and laughed, and Levi recognized the word “please” on Tula’s lips. The evil man shoved her aside, causing her to lose her balance on the top step. Levi lunged forward, arms extended in case she fell.

  The Blattvolk on both sides of him shouted, and Vitus swung around. The last thing Levi saw was the stunning device aimed right between his eyes.

  Tula sagged against the steps and sobbed. Over the last few weeks she’d lost more patients than during her entire first abysmal year as a genetic psychiatrist. Even Bats felt like a failure, since he was now forced to work at the protein production tanks instead of as a Burn Operative.

  In the morning, Levi would die, and there was nothing she could do about it. The Board had approved immediate euthanization. Violence would not be tolerated. She should have erased the video footage after he attempted to escape.

  Stupid, stupid, stupid.

  She should forget about Levi. A new little boy waited for her in Confinement. But Vitus’s words on the stairs stung. “There’s another mongrel down there waiting for you to fuck up.”

  She rose on unsteady legs and stared down the steps. Her feet would not obey her command to descend. Maybe Mo was right. She should take a leave of absence.

  Turning the other way, she proceeded to her lab. The euthanization chamber was only three doors down. Prisoners were given a real bed, a last meal of protein sludge flavored with agave syrup, and a night of solitude. She sat at her desk and pulled her gamma pad close but didn’t activate it. She knew her recent case files inside out. The only thing to do was mark Levi’s “euthanized” and close it.

  The one thing she couldn’t bear to do.

  She absently tapped the pencil on her gamma pad and stared at the only photo on her wall. Dr. Werne next to her at graduation, so proud of her, a convert, achieving her doctorate, especially so quickly. He was the reason she believed in conversion. The closest thing to family she ever had, he’d died of a stroke almost two years ago. What would he say if he was with her now?

  He’d ask what the cases had in common. She squeezed her eyes tight with the pain of thinking of them. Four deaths. Four people she’d rushed toward genetic alteration. Why did the department insist on so little time between capture and acceptance? Almost like they didn’t want new citizens. Which made sense. Not many Haldanians were as fanatic as Vitus, but even fellow converts like Mo had a hard time accepting new blood.

  She lowered her forehead onto the desk. Her job was pointless. Bats’s pathetic work at the vats had more value.

  If only native-born Haldanians had as much appreciation for the gift as she did. Conversion would put an end to cannibals. People would no longer live in terror of eat or be eaten. But it wasn’t like Levi was a cannibal. In spite of his attack on her in the cell, she believed he was peaceful. His people were probably peaceful. They’d see the value of conversion if given enough time.

  What gave the Board the right to take away someone’s life, just because they refused to be altered?

  Her fiber-optic puddle of sunlight faded to night, leaving her in darkness. The sounds of the department drifted to silence. The only one here would be the tech on duty.

  She crept to the door and peeked into the dim hall. Light streamed from the monitor room, but the rest of the doorways were closed or dark.

  Take Levi out to the Burn and let him go.

  Her heartbeat quickened until she was sure the tech could hear it. So what if she lost her job? She and Bats could work side by side in the protein factory. She’d have one less death on her conscience.

  Stepping back into the darkness of her lab, she sucked in a few deep breaths. The skimmer attendant would be gone, but she knew where he kept the ignition fobs. Levi would need clothing and a few supplies.

  Her golden robe hung in her lab closet. She grabbed it and her first aid kit, and was about to leave, then remembered his drawing pad. It was in her desk drawer, the only thing left from his arrival. Tucking it under an arm, she crossed the hall to the protein dispensary.

  The refrigerator was stocked with water bottles. She emptied a few and refilled them with protein fluid. He’d also need water. Lots of it on the Burn. She grabbed a dozen more bottles and realized she had no way to carry it all. Searching the dispensary, she found one small bag barely large enough to carry three bottles.

  She removed her lab coat and spread it across the floor. Using the notebook for a base, she stacked bottles in the middle along with the first aid kit. Then she brought the corners up and tied them together. For a handle, she knotted the sleeves at the ends and swung it over her shoulder. Awkward, but the best she could do.

  Again peering into the hall, she listened for movement from the monitor room. If Faran was on duty, he wouldn’t budge until he had to. She tiptoed to the euthanization room and looked into the window set high in the solid door. The room was pitch black.

  She swiped her hand across the locking palm pad and heard the click. Tensing, she darted a glance toward the monitor room. Nothing.

  Easing the door open, she squinted into the cell. She’d always avoided the room, and didn’t know how it was laid out. A rustle to her left told her where Levi must be. “Tula?” His voice was groggy.

  “Shhhh.” She held out a hand and moved into the room, colliding with his broad chest in four steps. “Come,” she whispered, stroking his shoulder and down his arm to take a hand.

  He followed without a sound. In the hall, she pulled the door shut, horrified at the click. No response from the monitor room. She put a finger to her lips, hoping he understood. With a hand, she gestured Levi to keep up.

  At the top of the stairs, she scanned the main hallway of the Liebert building. A few lights gleamed above privacy screens, but the hall appeared deserted. She handed Levi the robe. He could barely shove his arms into the sleeves, but it covered the bulk of his glowing, pink skin.

  They scurried down the hall and Tula stopped at the doors, surveying the street for passersby. Wind whistled down the dark passage between buildings. The jewelry store on the next street gleamed bright with lights, hopeful that passing lovers might stop to bestow gifts upon each other. But other than that, darkness dominated the business district. “Keep your robe closed and your head down.” She tugged on the thick edges of the robe, but it would not close across his chest. “Here goes nothing.”

  Likely to draw attention by dashing down the street, she looped an arm around Levi’s and strolled outside across the pavement. The three blocks to the skimmer yard felt like a million miles. Wind chilled her naked skin and tugged her hair, but Levi needed the robe far more than she did.

  Light streaming from the attendant building chilled her more deeply than the cutting wind.

  “God, no,” she groaned under her breath. Nobody should be there.

  Levi squeezed her hand and pointed toward the Burn.

  “No. You won’t get far enough.” The Burn Teams would be on him first thing in the morning. “Stay here. Stay.” She pointed to a narrow walkway between two buildings and handed him the supply bag. Eyes wary, Levi stepped into the deeper shadows.

  Putting a swing into her gait, she sauntered toward the attendant building. For all the world she wished she’d worn some jewelry. Inside, the mechanic, Koil, reclined in a chair with his sandaled feet on the desk. A gamma pad sat propped against the wall playing a movie. His eyes widened at her appearance and he dropped his feet from the desk.

  “Dr. Macoby! What are you doing out so late?”

  “I might ask you the same question. You d
on’t live here, do you?” She looked around with a wrinkle in her nose.

  “Oh, no. No, no, no. Batina and I had a fight.” His face broke into a sheepish grin. “My fault, of course.”

  “She’d love to hear you say that.” Tula grinned back and perched on the edge of the desk. “What’d you fight about?”

  “She works the shoe store. Brought home a new pair for me tonight and threw away my favorites.” He pointed down to his worn sandals. “Had to rescue them from the recycler.”

  “How are the new ones?”

  A flush turned his face brown beneath the chloroplasts and his gaze darted to a pair of new sandals tossed near the door. “No idea.”

  Tula smiled and clucked her tongue. She had it from here. “Boy, are you in trouble.”

  “I figure I’ll sit the night out here. She’ll be cool by morning.”

  “Koil, can I tell you a secret? The jewelry store across from Luan’s Stitchery still had their lights on a few minutes ago.”

  “You think?”

  “I think your woman gives you a gift, you’d better have something for her.”

  “Damn. You’re right. Thanks, Dr. Macoby. Oh, did you need something?”

  “I’m just out for a stroll. Saw your light on.” She stood and sauntered from the building.

  Making a point to stroll the opposite direction, she gave Koil time to disappear around the corner before running back to where she’d left Levi. He’d wandered down to the other end of the alleyway. “Levi!” she hissed.

  He hurried in her direction, a relieved look on his face. At the skimmer yard, she deposited him and the supplies in the nearest skimmer and hurried back to the wall with the ignition fobs. Crime wasn’t an issue in the Protectorate. The only reason the Conversion Department had locks was to keep the prisoners contained.

  Grabbing a key, she spotted Koil’s new sandals and took them, too. Levi needed shoes. Sorry, Koil.

  As they sped past Burn Ops toward the edge of the city, a flight team emerged from the hangar, talking and laughing, obviously high from their day on the Burn. Willing them to ignore her, Tula stepped on the accelerator. The skimmer shot past the outer fence. She clutched the steering wheel, eyes wide as they were enveloped by darkness.

  The Reaches Levi twisted to look back at the city for the tenth time. The lights and glitter of glass houses had disappeared in a blanket of haze. He turned to face forward, peering into the darkness. In the driver’s seat, Tula gripped the steering wheel hard enough to make her knuckles gleam as she stared intently ahead. They ran with no lights. The faint blue glow from the dashboard gave off only enough light to see fantastic swirls of dust pummeling the front window, eddying along the clear sides, grasping at the vehicle as if attempting to stop the reckless flight. Every once in a while, the vehicle shuddered and swayed, from the wind or from an unseen obstacle in their path, he couldn’t tell. His stomach leapt and twisted. Not used to this kind of speed, he was thrilled and frightened at the same time.

  Earlier, in the single-room cell, after the effect of the stun wore off, he’d been ready to accept his death. He’d made his peace with God. His mind wavered from so many changes. The will to live, the will to die - how many times had he determined a course of action over the last weeks, only to be derailed at the final moment of proof? He felt like Abraham on the mountain as he prepared to sacrifice his son, relieved to have God stay his hand.

  Only Levi was not so pious. Surely, it never occurred to Abraham that God was toying with him.

  Ashamed of his thoughts, Levi dropped his head in silent prayer and beseeched the Lord to grant them safe passage.

  For hours they headed through the darkness. The storm howled louder, and small stones and other debris cracked against the sides of the vehicle. His stomach dropped out from under him as they tilted precariously, slid sideways, and righted again. He clutched the edge of his seat. “Tula?”

  “It’s okay.” She didn’t take her eyes off the front window.

  He struggled with words. Dare he break her concentration? Could she see anything? “Eye?” He pointed out the front.

  A slight shake of her head.

  She couldn’t see. He’d hoped the Blattvolk had some kind of enhanced night vision, in addition to their green skin. Could the other Blattvolk pursue them in this weather?

  Again the car lurched, and the hum of the engine rose to a whine. Tula let out a string of words Levi didn’t understand, but interpreted as frustration.

  “Should we stop?” He knew she wouldn’t understand, but the silence pressed around him until it was hard to breathe.

  “Levi free.” More words, and again, “free.”

  Then the car entered free fall.

  The Haldanian Protectorate

  Vitus planned on being up at dawn to oversee the euthanization, but he still had two hours on his clock when the com shattered the silence in his apartment.

  “Dr. Vitus Dedecus, there’s an emergency in Confinement. Please respond immediately.”

  Groggy, he heaved a few breaths and flung back the blanket. Damn that prisoner. What had the mongrel done now? He used the lavatory and settled a few beads around his neck and at his ears. He’d wanted to look his best for the euthanization, but there was no time for primping.

  Muttering, he stepped out of the apartment. The wind ripped at his necklaces and blown sand scoured his exposed skin. “They couldn’t warn me there was a blowout?” He spit sand from his stinging lips and ducked back into his apartment to dig for a mask and wind-wrap in his equipment box. Once he had the breather secured and the stiff microfiber suit cinched at the neck and cuffs, he slipped outside, making sure to close the door tightly against the invading wind.

  Any remnant of pleasure about the upcoming euthanization was shredded to nothing by the scouring sand as he made his way to the Liebert Building. Another figure coming from the opposite direction stumbled toward the front door, but Vitus didn’t wait to see who. He lurched inside, flung off his mask, and tramped down the hallway to the stairs.

  Already in Confinement, Faran and the head of Burn Ops were in a heated argument. “…nothing, Faran.”

  Brows creased, Faran cowered at Vitus’s glare. “Sir. I don’t know how, but the prisoner is gone.”

  Vitus’s eyes narrowed. “How long ago.”

  The tech dropped his chin. “I got a call about twenty minutes ago.”

  “What do you mean, a call?”

  Behind him, a voice spoke. “I called.”

  Vitus turned to see a man holding full Burn gear. Councilwoman Arnica stood at the door shaking sand from her hair. Vitus focused on the man. “Who are you?”

  “Mo. Hymo Tryphus. I’m Tula’s - Dr. Macoby’s man. I saw her leave the city in a skimmer. It looked like she had a man with her.”

  “That weed!” Vitus exploded.

  Arnica stepped forward and skewered him with a look. “We have a hostage situation, here, Vitus.”

  “She’s no hostage. She set him free.”

  “You have no proof of that. Until things are proven otherwise, we will proceed with caution.”

  “The storm is blocking the tracking signal in the skimmer,” the head of Burn Ops said. “We have to wait until the blowout subsides to launch an air search.”

  The muscles in Vitus’s jaw clenched so hard his teeth ached. “How far could they get in this weather?”

  “No telling. They have quite a head start on us.”

  “They can’t be far. Which way did they go? Send skimmers. We can’t let her get away.”

  “Losing more equipment or men in this storm would be a waste of resources, Dr. Dedecus. They’re several hours ahead of us and could be turned around in the storm themselves.”

  Vitus refused to back down. “What do you mean several hours?” He turned his attention to the weed who claimed to be Tula’s man. “Why didn’t you report it sooner?”

  Mo stood firm, his mongrel-eyed gaze rejecting Vitus’s accusation. “I wasn’t sure o
f what I saw. It wasn’t until about twenty minutes ago I thought to call and make sure nothing was amiss.” He turned to his supervisor. “Sir, that’s my lady out there. I’d like to be on the first duster cleared for takeoff.”

  “Of course,” the other man agreed.

  “Hold on! This man failed to report a crime for hours, and you’re going to give him a lead in the investigation?”

  Head of Burn Ops turned a calm stare in Vitus’s direction. “I’ve heard my man’s side of the story. It’s my decision how I arrange my teams.”

  The Councilwoman stepped in before things turned any hotter. “Has anyone attempted to contact the skimmer by com?”

  Vitus gave the head of Burn Ops one last narrow-eyed glare, then spoke. “I’m her supervisor. I’ll make the call.”

  Vitus retreated to his office. He’d hoped to make the call alone, so he could let Tula know what he had planned for her, but Arnica and the head of Burn Ops followed. Mo stood outside the doorframe. Vitus shot him a sneer as he punched in com codes. The mongrel had probably helped Tula all along.

  “Dr. Sertularia Macoby, this is headquarters calling. Please respond.” He waited, half hoping she wouldn’t answer, yet disappointed when she didn’t. “Dr. Macoby, this is Dr. Vitus Dedecus. Please respond immediately.”

  “Reassure her we have rescue units standing by. Help is on the way.”

  Let her know we’re onto her, is more likely. But he did as Arnica asked. The weed couldn’t hide for long.

  The Reaches

  Tula tried to start the skimmer again with no success. The dash lights worked, but the engine only sputtered after they’d bounced and rolled across the bottom of the gully. Thankfully, they’d landed right side up. Outside the nuvoplast windows, drifting sand settled over the skimmer as the storm howled above the ravine. Worried they might end up buried, Tula opened the door, allowing a mist of silt to eddy through the car. And with the door open, the debris couldn’t block it shut.

  She sat back in the seat and looked at Levi. “No good.”

  He shook his head, his face grim in the feeble light from the dash.