by Jake Bible
“Is he friendly?” the scrawny man asked.
“He is, I’m not,” Cash said and pointed back the way the couple came. “How about you go back to your room?”
“No way, man,” the scrawny man said. “I ain’t never seen one outside a holo vid. He’s what…one of them antelopesauruses?”
“Ankylosaurus, you moron,” the woman snapped. “Don’t embarrass me with your ignorance.”
“I’m going to ask you both nicely one more time,” Cash said in his best Head of Security voice. “Go back to your hotel room. He may be friendly, but he is still a wild animal and dangerous to be around.”
“Yeah, I bet,” the scrawny man said and laughed. “Any animal big as a car would be dangerous, am I right?”
The scrawny man looked to Cash for confirmation that he was indeed right. Cash gave him nothing but a cold, hard stare.
Cash glanced past the scrawny man and saw six more people with their wrist tabs up and recording as they hustled across the parking lot.
“God dammit,” Cash muttered.
He’d driven halfway across the country with Elvis, so it wasn’t like this was the first time he’d dealt with an excited and curious public. It was simply that he didn’t like any type of public, especially an excited and curious one. Not anymore.
“Hold up, folks,” Cash said as he held his hands up, palms out. “Back off. Stay right there to get your vid then move on, alright? We don’t want to spook him.”
Elvis let out a happy little grunt then peed freely as he continued munching on the grass. It took the creature close to five minutes of a constant stream before he was finished. He did a little booty shake then sighed as he moved deeper into the grass.
“Can we get a picture?” the scrawny man asked. “Get a close-up?”
Cash almost told the man to go screw himself and get out of his sight, but the crowd, which had swelled to more than two dozen people, looked on with expectant faces and hopeful eyes. Instantly, Cash heard Tressa’s voice in his head.
“We are always representatives of Topside Industries,” the memory droned. “Whether on duty or off, at the job or at home. Every interaction with the public must help maintain the image that Topside Industries is here for the people, not the other way around.”
“Line up,” Cash grumbled. “No more than two at a time. One pic per and no retakes. If he gets antsy, then it’s all done and no one argues. We all understood, folks?”
The crowd quickly agreed that they understood and began to form a line as only an excited mob could. In other words, they clumped together and all jostled to be first.
“Get in a damn line!” Cash barked.
The crowd got in a damn line and quieted down at Cash’s harsh tone. Even Elvis lifted his head and looked back, clumps of grass hanging from his huge beak.
“Elvis? Picture time with the nice people,” Cash said, sounding angry and bored at the same time.
Elvis snorted, finished chewing his breakfast, then slowly turned about so he was facing the crowd.
Four stocky legs, as big and thick as an elephant’s, held up the huge armored body. Two horns protruded from the back of the wide, thick skull, with another set of two horns pointing downward from the first. It was a strange configuration, to be sure, but Cash had witnessed those horns hook the legs of predators and flip the attackers onto their ass with the shake of a head.
The rest of Elvis’s body was a wide, flattened dome made up of multiple armored plates topped by knobby bone. The dome protected the entirety of Elvis’s back, ending where the long, powerful tail began. At the end of that tail was a mace-like ball that could crack steel in half if Elvis got a full head of steam up and felt particularly destructive.
At the moment, Elvis was far from destructive. He was bobbing his head up and down, beak open, in that way he did when he was happy and excited. Much to Cash’s chagrin, Elvis adored people and loved to interact with them.
The first couple approached Elvis warily then positioned themselves on each side of the creature before holding up their wrists to take a picture.
“One and done,” Cash barked. “Next.”
It took close to forty minutes before the last person was done immortalizing their encounter with Elvis. As soon as that woman had gotten her picture, Cash gave Elvis a pat on the rump and pointed to the trailer.
“Back in, boy,” Cash said. “I’m gonna grab some grub them we go see Raff and Lakshmi.”
At the mention of the two names, Elvis lifted his head and let out a long, sorrowful howl that sounded like a goose’s squawk slowed down to quarter speed.
“I hear ya,” Cash said and gave Elvis a good smack.
The creature lumbered his way back up into the trailer then laid down on the pile of hay at the far end. Cash waited until Elvis was settled, which was signified by a loud, exaggerated harrumph of a sigh, before closing the ramp and locking it.
Then Cash made his way back across the parking lot and headed for the hotel’s diner.
***
People stared as Cash was shown to his booth, but he ignored them and immediately picked up his menu to hide his face once the hostess had walked away.
“Coffee?” the waitress asked when she came up to the table, her eyes down and locked onto her tablet, ready to take his order.
“Yeah. Bring me a whole carafe and two stacks of pancakes, the four cheese omelet, a bowl of fruity rings, and a strawberry milkshake,” Cash said then set the menu aside and tried to ignore the gawking customers.
“You sure you got enough?” the waitress asked, laughing as she looked up from her tablet to make eye contact with cash.
Both of them froze and stared before blinking in recognition.
“Olivia Herndon, right?” Cash asked.
“You’re the security guy,” Olivia said.
“Trevon Cash, former Head of Security for Topside Command,” Cash said, trying to smile, but failing miserably.
“Former head?” Olivia asked.
“Someone had to take the fall for what happened,” Cash replied and shrugged. “When the voices get loud enough, heads roll.”
“Shit. Sorry,” Olivia said and sat down across from Cash. “I was one of those loud voices.”
“I know,” Cash said, shrugging again. “No hard feelings on my end. You lost your wife and you were—”
“I didn’t lose her,” Olivia snapped. “She’s still alive and on the Flipside. You’ll see that—”
Olivia stopped talking as Cash gave her a blank stare.
“You’ve heard it all before,” she said.
“I have,” Cash agreed.
Olivia stood back up, straightened her waitress uniform, then gave Cash a smile. It was pained, but genuine.
“Let me get you your coffee and make sure your very large order is on its way,” Olivia said. “I’ll let you eat in peace, but do you think we could talk when you’re done?”
A million responses warred inside Cash’s head, none of them close to a “yes,” but he said, “Sure. I owe you that much.”
Olivia appeared to bite back a response, nodded, then turned and strode toward the kitchen. Diners’ eyes watched her go then all turned back to Cash. He glared then looked down at the top of his table. He’d left his wrist tab back in his room since he had no desire to be interrupted while eating. He wished he’d brought it with him so he could hide behind a vid instead of staring blankly at an old and chipped Formica tabletop.
Olivia brought Cash’s coffee then his huge order of food and was true to her word. She let him eat in peace, unlike the rest of the people in the diner, and waited until he was finished and had paid before she took off her apron and sat down again.
“Not here,” Cash said as he watched more than a couple of diners failing miserably at secretly recording the interaction. “Let’s talk in my room.”
“No, I can’t,” Olivia said, waving her hand in a circle. “Management frowns on employees fraternizing with customers.”
&
nbsp; “We both work for the same company,” Cash said. “This hotel and diner are owned by subsidiaries of Topside Industries.”
Olivia blinked a few times. “What?”
“You didn’t know that?” Cash asked. “This town, the next one over, the one after that. Pretty much everything within a two-hundred-square-mile radius of the bubble is owned by Topside Industries. You think they’d risk having municipalities try to influence them? No way.”
“I, uh, I…” Olivia squeezed her eyes shut then shook her head as she stood up. “I really didn’t think of that.”
“So, back to my room to talk?” Cash asked.
“No. We can go to my place,” Olivia said. “I’d feel better on home ground.” She looked a little dazed. “Although, I guess it’s not home ground since I’m renting and now know I’m probably renting from Topside Industries.”
“Sorry,” Cash said as he stood up. His exo-braces made soft whirring noises and Olivia glanced down. “Yeah. These are my full-time reality now.”
“Right. Yeah, your knees,” Olivia said.
“Can we take your car? I don’t want to unhook the truck,” Cash said.
Olivia looked out the window at the truck and trailer across the parking lot. “Will he be okay while you’re gone?”
“Elvis? He’s sound asleep. The guy naps for two hours after every meal. Lazy bastard,” Cash said. He raised his eyebrows at Olivia. “We going? Kind of on a timetable today.”
“Oh, right, yeah, come on,” Olivia said.
***
The town of Fossil Park hadn’t been more than two rundown motels and a couple fast food joints thirty years earlier, before the bubble had appeared. As Cash studied the buildings that streamed by outside the passenger window of Olivia’s car, he decided the town wasn’t too much more now. More motels and hotels, considerably more fast food joints, with a small mix of chain sit-down restaurants, and some gift and retail shops dotted here and there on the main thoroughfare. The volume of business had increased, but Cash didn’t see that as an improvement.
“Don’t you want to know why I’m here still? Working at that diner instead of back home teaching?” Olivia asked as she drove them down the street then slowed as the streetlight turned yellow then red.
“Your wife was left behind after the turn,” Cash replied. “You quit your teaching job and got a job here so you could be close if the turn happened ahead of schedule. You also have been hassling as many people as possible for answers while you wait.”
“Jesus,” Olivia said. “I thought you looked surprised to see me. I guess that was bullshit. You knew I was here.”
“Nope,” Cash said. “I had no idea. I’ve been busy with putting my own life back together. It’s just that I’ve been in this business almost from the start and your story isn’t exactly original. Accidents happen and people have a hard time letting go.”
“You got part of it wrong,” Olivia said. “I didn’t quit teaching. I’m on a year-long leave.”
“Year’s almost up. You gonna go back to teaching even if you don’t get the answers you are looking for when the turn happens and Flipside returns?” Cash asked.
The light turned green, but Olivia didn’t move the car. Someone behind honked and she lifted her middle finger then accelerated. She whipped the car into the next parking lot, pulled into a space, and powered down the motor.
Cash glanced around. “You live at a card shop?”
“No. I can’t wait to talk. We’re doing this now. Here,” Olivia replied, her voice tight with emotion.
Cash sighed as he looked out the windshield at a poster for an assortment of dinosaur-themed greeting cards taped to the shop’s window. He leaned back against the headrest and closed his eyes.
“So, hit me with your questions,” Cash said.
“Are you going to take a nap?” Olivia asked.
“No. I’m listening,” Cash said. “Talk.”
Olivia didn’t say anything for a while. Cash let her stay silent.
Finally, Olivia cleared her throat and said, “My wife’s name is Astrid. She is alive, I know it.”
“Good for you,” Cash replied, eyes still closed.
“Do you think she’s alive?” Olivia asked.
“I have no idea,” Cash answered. “She could be, but no way to know until the turn happens.” He opened one eye and aimed it at Olivia. “Which is in six hours, so can we wrap this up? I have to report in two hours and it takes an hour to drive out to the BOP.”
“Base of operations,” Olivia said to herself.
Cash closed his eye and gave her a thumbs up.
“Wait… Report? Why do you have to report?” Olivia asked. “You said you were fired.”
“Never said that,” Cash replied. “I said I was no longer Head of Security. No way TI would fire me. I’ve been there since close to the beginning.” He frowned. “And there are some entanglements that would make it hard for Tressa to boot my ass completely without some serious fallout.”
“Tressa? Tressa Thompson, the CEO of Topside Industries?” Olivia asked.
“That’s the one,” Cash said.
“Are you two…?” Olivia asked.
“She’s my half-sister,” Cash said. “She grew up with rich daddy. I grew up with poor mommy and was ignored by rich daddy. Until the bubble appeared and I happened to be one of the more qualified people that applied for a security position.”
“You got your job because your dad is Tyrel Thompson?” Olivia asked.
“I got my job because I spent five years in sub-Saharan Africa as a grunt then another four years in Special Forces in Southeast Asia,” Cash said. “Tyrel didn’t even know who I was when I was hired. He’d forgotten that my mother’s last name was Cash. Wasn’t until a mandatory DNA profiling brought up more than a couple of red flags. There was an emergency meeting with the board. That was when I was outed.”
“Must have been hard knowing you were working for a father that—”
“Not here to talk about me,” Cash snapped. “Get on with what you have to say. I owe you that much, for sure.”
“I believe that Astrid is alive,” Olivia said after a couple seconds of pointed silence. “But I need to know. How likely will it be that Topside Industries announces any information to loved ones today?”
“No clue,” Cash said. “I won’t know what’s up until I get to Topside BOP. They might be open and honest or they might have all info locked down tight. Really depends on what mood Tressa is in.”
“I can’t keep doing this,” Olivia said quietly. “I have to know.”
“I understand completely,” Cash said. “I have friends that stayed behind. That’s why I have the Ankylosaurus with me. He belongs to my best friends Raff and Lakshmi. Been taking care of the beast for a year and I’m done dino-sitting. Can’t wait to hand his armored ass off and then get back to work.”
“Doing what?” Olivia asked.
At that question, Cash opened his eyes and turned to focus on Olivia’s expectant and waiting face. “Classified. I may not like towing the company line, but there are things the public can do without knowing.”
“Great. You’re as much a part of the problem as all the bureaucrats I’ve been butting heads with this last year.”
“I’m not that bad, but I don’t work for the public despite what PR bullshit Tressa likes to spout.”
Cash shifted in his seat and looked about the shop’s parking lot.
“Is that all you wanted to talk about? We could have done that in the diner,” Cash said.
“You’re the one that wanted to leave,” Olivia said. “I sat down and was ready to chat.”
“That’s fair,” Cash agreed. “So…we’re done?”
“No,” Olivia said. “I want you to get me onto that base so I can be there when the turn happens.”
“Are you serious?” Cash laughed. “No offense, but you’re off your rocker if you think I have that kind of pull.”
“Former Head of Securi
ty that is half-brother to the CEO?” Olivia scoffed.
“Okay, maybe I have some pull…” Cash thought for a moment then smiled. “Sure. Why the fuck not. It’s going to be a shit day anyway. Having you tag along will be the least of my issues. Just don’t do anything stupid to get yourself shot.”
“I’ll try not to,” Olivia said and laughed. Cash didn’t laugh back. “Shit. You’re serious.”
“Wish I wasn’t,” Cash said then patted the dashboard. “You gonna drive this thing back to the hotel or are you gonna have the car drive itself? Doesn’t matter to me, but you are a little distracted. Autopilot may be the way to go.”
“I’m driving. I hate autopilot. Too slow,” Olivia said as she pressed a button and the motor hummed to life.
“Don’t disagree there,” Cash said and closed his eyes again.
Three
“Thirty years ago, the Wyoming Bubble appeared,” Barbara Chin said as she casually stood outside a beige building, her eyes staring into the camera that was being held by her cameraman, Zach Neef. “Then bubbles appeared across the globe—Japan, Korea, Russia, the Netherlands, Iceland, Argentina, China, Zimbabwe, Morocco, Iran, India, and more.”
She walked away from the beige building and the camera panned with her. In the background was a bustle of activity as the shot widened to show Topside Industries personnel moving about the Topside Command base of operations, everyone prepping for the coming turn within the bubble from Topside to Flipside.
Far, far off, barely perceptible against the afternoon sun, was the shimmer of the bubble itself beyond the top of a massive steel and concrete wall. Barbara glanced over her shoulder then turned back to the camera.
“When the bubbles first appeared, it was chaos and terror for months,” Barbara continued. “Governments struggled to figure out how areas as large as a hundred square miles could suddenly turn over and reveal a scene straight out of Jurassic Park.” She waved a hand and slouched. “Cut. Let me do that last part again. People are sick of hearing about Jurassic Park. I’ll do the Doyle bit. Sounds more literary.”
