I had almost reached the street, still fumbling with the shoe, when something stopped me. I looked into the darkened recess of a loading dock and could just make out a form slumped against the stairs. For a fleeting moment I thought it might be Jake, but I could tell that they were much too small to match his lanky frame. I lifted my light stick over my head, trying to get a clearer look without getting too close. You never knew, it could be a ruse, or some tripped out O user coming down off their high. The light caught a patch of pale skin where the person’s hair had parted. The head turned and I could see the glitter of an eye, round with fright. I didn’t think that, whoever it was, meant me any harm and there was something in the delicate outline in the shadows that made me want to help.
“You okay?” I whispered, torn between needing to find Jake and worrying about the girl, at least I thought it was a girl, all alone in a back alley after dark. She didn’t say anything but nodded “yes”. I didn’t believe it. Working off a hunch I asked “Do you know Jake?” Her head shot up, yes she was definitely female, and she stared at me, unblinkingly. “I’m his teacher, Dax. We were supposed to meet and I think something happened to him.” I waved his shoe at her, to stress my point. She uncurled to a standing position and gave me a slow once over in the dim glow of my light stick.
“You’re Dax?” I could hear the incredulity in her voice. I obviously didn’t meet up with expectation.
“Yup, that’s me…and you are?”
“Blossom.” She threw the name at me, daring me to contradict her. It definitely wasn’t a system name, but she had all the tell tale signs; middle of the road clothes, pale skin, and hair that desperately needed a trim. I could see that she had outlined her almond shaped eyes heavily with some sort of make-up and her lips had the telltale sheen of synthetic gloss.
“Blossom…?” I questioned, hoping for a last name.
“Yeah, I’m a friend of Jake’s. Bad news, man…he’s like totally gonzo.” Now, I knew that ‘gonzo’ could mean many things; dead, on the run, taken, stoned or just plain crazy.
“Someone grabbed him?” I took a shot in the dark, using the Converse as the basis of my theory.
She did that one shoulder shrug, both endearing and maddening at the same time. “They tried, but he bounced.” She paused, biting her lip, wondering how much she could trust me. She stared hard at the shoe in my hand, weighing the possibilities of the incriminating evidence. I knew she was wondering if I was a friend or not.
“I found it in the alley…tripped over it actually.” Her half grin told me she’d witnessed my little mishap. I don’t know why I cared, but it bugged me that she saw me fall. “Look, my friend is dead, Jake needs my help and you seem to know something about it. Are you going to help me or just leave him hanging?”
She stared at me even harder, as if she was trying to see in to the very heart of my being, but apparently my soul was murky and unknowable, because she shrugged again. I must have looked desperate because she took a step back. I put my hands up in supplication and she gave a brief nod.
“I think he’s heading to your house.” She didn’t raise a hand to point in any particular direction, by something in her body language pointed back towards the pod. “I’ll come with you; I know some short cuts.” I wanted to ask her how she knew where I lived, but was forced to keep silent as I needed all my breath to keep up with her.
With every turn, she proved that she was a street rat, ducking down seemingly dead-end hollows, cutting across rickety walls and over the occasional low awning. Ten minutes later we were crouched down in an alley directly across from my building. A transport cruised by slowly, but didn’t stop or show any indication of interest toward the poorly lit entry. I went to step out onto the sidewalk, but Blossom’s thin arm held me back. She watched the transport turn a corner and double checked that the street was clear.
“Is there a back way in?” she whispered, keeping low, her eyes returning to the corner where the transport had turned. I had to think about her question for a second. I’d never worried about alternate entries, but recalled a door on the side of the building, next to the laundry room. I pointed to a narrow path cutting between my building and the one next door. Quick as light, she dashed across the street and disappeared into the shadows. I followed with much less grace and a decided shortness of breath. I heard a muffled noise in the darkness. I patted my pockets looking for my light stick and finally located it in the breast pocket of my coat then surreptitiously felt for the lump in the back of my waistband. The gun was still there, amazingly. Opting for protection over sight, I eased it out from under my jacket and flipped off the safety; the weight felt familiar in my hand and I braced my arm the way I’d seen in old movies.
“Blossom?” I rasped, barely allowing any air over my vocal chords. Silence. I cleared my throat a little and tried again. “Blossom?”
“Dax?” I heard the response drift out from the dark hollow of the side door. It wasn’t a girl’s voice, but it was one that I recognized.
“Jake…thank God! Are you okay?” I moved forward slowly, my free hand protecting my face from unseen objects. I took a few steps but still couldn’t see anything. I tucked away the gun and pulled out the glow stick. I could make out Jake’s pale countenance in the doorway, but couldn’t see the girl at all. I guess my expression gave my thoughts away. Jake reached behind him and pulled the girl in to the pale light. I fumbled around in my backpack and pulled out his shoe, tossing it to him. His government issued white sock was filthy and he grimaced as he pulled on the runner. His sock must have been wet, and it definitely wouldn’t have been a water puddle he stepped in. I pushed my way to the door and slid my key in. The lock screeched in protest and we all froze. I almost chocked on my own heart and I felt Jake tremble next to me. We slipped in to the hallway and I was grateful for the darkness.
“Dax, you can’t go upstairs.” It was good to hear his voice after everything I’d just been through. “The transport dropped off someone on its first pass. He hasn’t come out of the building yet.” I digested the information, my intellect warring with my instincts.
“Are you sure it wasn’t someone just visiting?” I asked, trying to sound logical.
“Sure, if that someone just happens to be dressed like one of the goons that tried to grab me,” he answered acerbically.
“Okay, okay.” I ran a hand through my hair, trying to get my brain to function faster. “Look, I need to get up there to get my tablet. Reggie left a zip drive and we need to find out what’s on it.” I shoved my glasses up on to the top of my head so I could rub my eyes with a thumb and forefinger and gather my thoughts. “Stay here, I’ll go see if the coast is clear. If I’m not back in ten minutes, then you have to get out of here. I’ll stall for as long as possible to give you time to get away. Let’s hope that it doesn’t come to that.” I pulled out my stash of bit coin vouchers and handed it to Jake. He tried to refuse, but I forced his hand open and closed it over the chits. I pulled out the gun and flashed it at them, just to let them know I’d be okay. Jake’s eyebrows nearly flew off his forehead in surprise. He let out a low whistle and then nodded, looking to Blossom, to see if she would agree as well. She didn’t baulk and I took it for consent. I nestled them in to the old laundry room; the remains of the distant past. Water conservation was strict and most everything was chemically cleaned now. If you wanted to risk it, you could dump your clothes in the building’s collection vat and hope to see them the following week or just take stuff to a legitimate drycleaners. I left them with the light stick and eased my way down to the well lit foyer. I pressed my back against the wall and peaked around the opening. The entry was empty and I crossed the lobby in three quick strides. Ignoring the air lifts, I headed for the staircase. As I took the third step, the lights flickered out and I was blessed with the anonymity of another blackout.
Chapter 3 – The Pod
When I hit the landing of the fifteenth floor I could barely hold myself up. My legs were like jel
l-o and my lungs burned like I’d just smoked a pack of cigarettes. I paused to catch my breath, pulling my shirt away from my damp skin in the process. The blackout continued, but I knew I only had a few more minutes before the lights would flicker on again. Breathing as quietly as I could under the circumstances, I eased the hallway door open and was met with almost perfect darkness. I strained my ears, listening for any sign of life in the hallway. It sounded satisfyingly empty, but I sidled down one wall, slowly feeling my way to my apartment. Finally reaching my door, I jiggled the handle, just to prove that the door was still locked and placed my thumb over the keypad forgetting that the power was out. I fumbled with the manual key and closed the door behind me, just as the lights started flickering on again.
I shouldn’t have been surprised, but it took me aback to see the contents of the pod spilled every which way. The door may have been locked, but someone had definitely rifled through my space. I was glad that I took Jake’s memory stick with me when I went out looking for him and was doubly glad to see that my tablet was still on the table. As I picked it up, I could feel the warmth radiating from the vent; someone had fired it up recently. I dumped the contents of the bag I took from Reggie’s in to a larger backpack and grabbed some extra items. I swept the entire contents of my food cupboard into the smaller bag from Reggie’s, tossed a few pieces of extra clothes and a first aid kit into the bigger bag and turned out all the lights, except for the one nearest the window. I left the space that had been my home for close to a decade and headed back to the stairway without so much as a second glance.
The kids were huddled down under an ancient sink that must have been used for washing things like blankets and carpets, based on its size. The light stick was clearly burning itself out, but my eyes were starved for light having come in to the room from the full glare of the lobby and the glint of the dying light in Blossom’s lip gloss gave away their hiding spot.
“Okay, let’s go.” I said, sounding much more assertive than I felt. The kids crawled out from under the huge metal sink with a clang that made me cringe. The two stood, side by side, looking at me expectantly.
“Uh, Dax, where are we going to go?” asked Jake rubbing the top of his head where it had struck the sink.
“I don’t know, but we have to get the hell out of here. Someone killed Reggie and my apartment’s been trashed, not to mention that you were almost kidnapped. We gotta go and go fast. Once we find somewhere safe, we can figure out what to do next.” I turned to Blossom. “You must know somewhere that we can crash for a bit and stay under the radar?” She chewed her lip and considered the options. She tugged on Jake’s sleeve and he leaned over so she could whisper something in his ear.
“Totally.” He answered giving me a thumbs up.
“Yeah, I know a good place to lay low for a bit. Follow me.” She turned gracefully and silently slipped out the side door or my building. I braced myself to follow, whichever way she chose to go. About an hour later, I was so confused by all the turns and switch backs that I lost track of where we were, but true to her word, she led us into an underground cavern that was cool and dry and very satisfactorily devoid of life, be it human or otherwise.
The space looked like it had once been an underground parkade; the building over it long gone and the parking stalls empty, lines faded. We found a small corner, walled on three sides that suppressed the echo of our whispered voices. I distributed some insta-meals and thermal blankets that I found in the first aid kit. We didn’t really need the blankets as the ambient temperature was probably a pleasing 21 degrees, but it felt safer, swaddled up in a covering less than a millimetre thick. I turned to Jake, hoping he’d willingly fill me in on the happenings of the evening. Before Jake could open his mouth, Blossom rushed to his side and held what looked like a glinting blade against his neck. I tried to yell a warning, but my voice caught in my throat, astounded by my own gullibility. Reflexively I reached for my gun and unlocked the safety. Jake’s eye bulged out of his head and then a sense of calm came across his features. He raised a hand as if to fend off my impending bullet.
“It’s okay Dax.” He smiled slightly and my dulled mind marvelled at his serenity. “She has to take out my tracker.” He tipped his head forward a bit and the girl ran her thumb down the back of his neck with one hand, while she activated the laser scalpel with the other. It took me a few seconds to realize the implications of what she was doing and to drop my weapon. She found a spot that satisfied her and after a bit of prodding, fearlessly ran the beam along the skin at the base of his neck, near the right shoulder. A trickle of blood appeared as Blossom manipulated the incision and she used it as lubrication to pop out the implant. It reminded me of a poker chip, except flatter and more malleable. I wanted to inspect it more closely, but Blossom laid it on the hard cement and passed the beam of the laser knife over it, frying the small bit of tech. Using the laser, she sliced off a piece of her shirt and pressed it against Jake’s wound.
“We can’t stay long. They’ll figure out that we were here, just by pinging the chip’s last location. Do you have a zip in that first aid kit?” she asked.
I riffled through the small emergency bag and located what she asked for. I peeled off the wrapping and passed it carefully to her, not touching the backing. Gingerly she laid the zip against Jake’s neck and I watched as she pressed the fine needle-like hooks of the zip to either side of the wound. Once positioned properly, she sealed up the center of the bandage drawing the two sides of the cut neatly together and as the numbing cream released into Jake’s blood stream, I saw his shoulders lower slowly. The injury would heal with no scar and the zip would fall out when its work was done.
“Are you sure it’s the government we’re worried about?” I asked “What the hell happened tonight?” Jake gave a careless shrug and winced, having forgotten about his injury already.
“Whoever it was must have found me by my chip? How else could they find me so quickly?”
“You thought someone was following you.” I countered, trying to make sense of the nonsensical. “You mentioned a transport…”
“Yeah, maybe they got the chip frequency, or they could have been the feds…I dunno.” Again he gave a careless shrug that made me want to shake sense in to him. I was freaking out…I could feel the panic and fear running through my veins, making my heart beat like a riff in a drum solo. I was having problems thinking straight, but I put on my best poker face for the kids. I unknotted my hands and ran them through my hair a few times and then took off my glasses to give my face a good scrub.
“Do we have enough time to read Reg’s memory stick?” I asked, looking at the girl. Her dark hair fell over one eye as she looked down at her nails, picking off a small flake of electric green polish. It looked like her nails hadn’t seen paint for a month or more. She flicked her hair back and met my gaze levelly.
“If you got enough power, we might have time. It depends when the last signal went out.” I waited, expecting her to elaborate. She sighed, obviously disgusted by my ignorance. “The chip pings every 30 minutes when you get so close to emancipation. They might not even know that we’re here…if we’re lucky, but I bet they’ll figure it out. We weren’t very far away half an hour ago. At least he’s not a Frosh; the chip would ping every five minutes.” I searched my memory for the term “Frosh” and pulled up a small recollection about newly chipped orphans.
“I don’t think we should risk it.” I offered, reluctant to leave the seeming safety of the parkade even though the information on Reg’s memory stick was beckoning to me like ‘O’ seduced an addict. Whatever Jake had uncovered, someone wanted the information, which meant his Intel had some merit. The only way out of this was to head out into the unknown and cross the land outside the dome. The thought of my PhD flashed through my head, as well as the other wispy fancies I’d cooked up for myself; but they weren’t to be. I thought I felt a pang as I said good-bye to them, but maybe I was just terrified. I shook it off.
“Do you have any more hidey-holes close by? I mean close enough to get to safely but far enough away to avoid discovery?” As I spoke, I was hastily packing up the emergency blankets and food rations. I tucked the gun back in to the waistband of my pants and pulled my jacket down over it. I looked expectantly back and forth between Jake and Blossom, waiting for one of them to answer. They exchanged a quick glance and almost imperceptible shrugs. “Look, we don’t have time for secrets and we better start trusting each other or this is going to end really badly. Whoever is looking for Jake obviously knows that I’m involved now. The pod was turned upside down, Reg is dead and we have to get the hell out of here – and I don’t just mean this place, I mean the city.” They swapped glances again and came to some sort of silent agreement.
“Okay, you’re right…I know another place. It’s not easy to get to, but I don’t think anyone will find us there.” Blossom said. “You’re not going to like it.” Jake’s mouth quirked up into a little smile as she spoke.
“Yeah, it’s pretty gross, getting there and we don’t have a change of clothes,” he added.
“We can steal some en route, if we need to, but I’d rather not take the time.” The two kids exchanged another knowing glance and I relented. “Fine, if you think it’s best…I’m willing to grant you superior knowledge of the city’s underbelly.”
Blossom grabbed a light stick and cracked the seal, mixing the chemicals together, before she turned and led us further into the underground parkade. She stopped when she came to a fairly sizable chunk of cement blocking her way.
Last Farmer: Last Farmer Series - Book 1 Page 3
