“No,” said Zora. She shrugged.
“Texa,” said Ailsa, “come on. We’re finding a way out of here. There must be a boat or something. She lay down on the edge of the platform and looked over the edge.
Underneath was a complex metal structure but no ladder or other obvious means of safe transportation to the surface of the water, hundreds of meters below. Nor was there any boat moored down there.
Ailsa stood back up. She walked over to Zora and slashed her arm with the knife.
Zora screamed. She held her arm tight against her body. She stepped towards the tent.
“There is a way off of this thing,” said Ailsa, “and you’re going to tell me what it is!”
“Mom, what are you doing?” asked Texa. Her mouth hung open. She stepped back and entered the tent.
Ailsa’s face flushed. The vibration of the current activated a feeling of hot shame in her. “Just sit down by the tent door, baby. Outside the tent! Mommy… Mommy has to get us out of here. Turn around, baby, I don’t want you to see this.”
“No!” yelled Texa. She took a step closer to her mother. “She’s nice. She’s helping us.”
“Just be quiet.” Ailsa struggled to focus on Zora. “Why would they put a platform out in the middle of the ocean, this high up with just a flimsy tent on it? Just for us? Why? Why!”
Ailsa grabbed Zora’s arm and jerked her closer. She dug her thumb into the cut on Zora’s arm. Zora grimaced. “Ow! Please!”
Ailsa put the knife to Zora’s neck. “So help me…” She stared deep into Zora’s eyes. “So help me! Look at my little girl and tell me you wouldn’t do the same. Tell me!” she screamed.
Ailsa slashed the thin blade against Zora’s cheek and a tiny gash opened. Blood oozed out. Zora touched her cheek, saw the blood on her fingers and sobbed. She hugged her arms to herself and took a step towards the edge of the platform.
Ailsa kicked Zora’s feet out from under her. Zora fell hard on her back and gasped for air. Ailsa sat on her chest and held the blade just above the pale skin of Zora’s neck. Ailsa watched Zora’s chest heave. Just beyond the woman’s head was the rolling ocean. She hesitated but then she remembered being strapped to the table, helpless, as the people in suits accessed her body without her permission.
She started to push down into the pudgy flesh of her neck.
“Okay! Okay!” yelled Zora. “I’ll tell you!”
Ailsa continued to push.
Zora opened a flap of metal in the floor near the entrance to the tent. “Stand over here.” Her hand shook as she pointed to a safe spot.
Ailsa and Texa looked at her. “What?”
Zora gestured at them. “Over here.” She swallowed hard.
“Don’t try anything,” Ailsa said.
The mother and daughter stood up against the tent. Zora pushed something inside the metal flap. There was a screeching metal groan. The floor of the platform split in front of them. It slid apart and a winged vehicle rose up from below.
“Please, let me go with you,” said Zora.
Ailsa grabbed Texa and ran to the vehicle. Its cigar-shaped body was a matte dark metallic blue. There was a pilot’s bench and behind it three rows of two seats each. The wings unfolded. They were wide and deep but very thin.
Ailsa belted Texa into the second row. Ailsa sat down next to her. “Take us to London!” she said.
Nothing happened.
Zora crossed her arms and rolled her eyes. “You need a pilot.”
“Turn on! Close hatch!” yelled Ailsa.
“Mom,” Texa said, “we don’t know how to use it. We need…” She turned to Zora. “What’s your name?”
“Go!” yelled Ailsa. Her face was red.
Texa rolled her eyes. “She already knows where we want to go. And I like her.”
Zora walked over the edge of the vehicle. “Well?”
Ailsa slunk down in her seat and crossed her arms.
Zora got into the pilot’s seat. In front of her was a steering wheel, four large buttons colored red, blue, green and yellow. Dials and digital readouts surrounded them. She strapped herself in. “Turn on,” she said. “Hatch down. Destination: London.”
Ailsa sat up straight. “Hey, why does it work for her?”
Texa giggled.
Zora sat absolutely still. She strained her wrist to pull the slim communicator out of her back pocket. She cleared her throat, then stopped herself. If they’re resting, I shouldn’t make a sound. She listened for any sign of movement in the back seat. There was nothing.
“Broadcast. Rising. London,” she typed. “Two Xemura refugees, lab specimens, human female and female child, need exit strategy near XLS1 now. Immediate reply. Confirm.”
“What’s your name?” It was the girl. She leaned forward over the front bench and and looked at Zora.
Zora put on her serious face. “You need to strap in, young lady, before—”
“I just want to know your name,” Texa said. Her brash grin burst through Zora’s defenses.
“Zora,” she said with a smile.
“My name’s Texa.”
“Yes, I know. Now sit—”
“Who are you messaging?” the child asked.
Zora’s chest seized up.
“And what are you so afraid of?” asked Texa.
Zora sighed. “This is a bit complicated for a little—”
Texa frowned and crossed her arms. “I can understand more than adults think I can.”
A reply came back. “Black car, southeast corner of XLS1 five minutes, sharp. Refugees only.”
Zora took a deep breath. She put the communicator away. Now all I have to worry about is what Vernor will do to me.
“It’s a good thing we brought Zora, huh, Mom?” said Texa with a resentful grin.
Ailsa was silent. I’m ditching her as soon as we land. The low squeal of the aircraft zooming through cloudy skies relaxed her. She closed her eyes again and let her shoulders fall.
“This is Xemura 8342,” said Zora, “requesting permission to enter Republic airspace.”
“Destination?” said a genderless voice.
“London, Xemura Life Sciences Building One,” said Zora.
“Approved,” said the voice, “Engage auto-pilot now.”
“Auto,” said Zora. She looked back at Texa and smiled. “It’ll be just another few minutes.”
“Xemura?” asked Ailsa. She opened her eyes and leaned forward. “Is this whole thing…? No, we’re not going there!“
“No other destination is credible,” said Zora. “This craft always flies back and forth between XLS1 and the platform.”
“‘Always’? So you’ve done this to other people? And what happened to them?” Ailsa asked.
Zora said nothing.
“See?” Ailsa whispered to Texa. “She’s no saint. She’s done—”
Texa put her face against the glass. “Look, Mom. It’s beautiful.”
Ailsa leaned over her daughter and looked out the window. Her mouth opened in wonder. Below them, the indigo ocean met the gleaming shores of England.
“It’s so shiny!” said Texa.
“The Republic is very technologically advanced,” said Zora. “It provides—”
Ailsa reached around and smacked the side of Zora’s head. “You won’t feed that bullshit to her.”
Zora swallowed hard. “The Republic has given me—”
“Enough!” yelled Ailsa. “Set it down over there.”
“But I have to go to XLS1,” said Zora. ”That’s where the auto-pilot is taking us.”
“Turn it off!”
“Auto-pilot off,” said Zora.
The ship jerked. “Auto-pilot must be on under Republic order 892–330. Request denied. Resuming original course to Xemura Life Sciences Building One.”
“She what?” Dr. Vernor Xemura yelled. He stood up behind his thin metal and glass desk in his darkened office on the eighty-third floor of Xemura Life Sciences Building One in London.
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“She’s gone and so are the subjects,” said the male voice.
“I’m sorry, Mr. President,” Xemura said with a formal tone. “I have a pressing matter. I will return your call shortly.” He tapped a button on his desk.
“The relevant video is available to you now,” said the male voice.
Xemura watched the video footage. “Doesn’t she realize how important this is? This is a personal betrayal. Thank you.”
“But how do we—”
“Disconnect,” said Xemura. “Connect Hanshin.”
“Yes, sir,” said Hanshin. His voice was deep and guttural.
“A hovercraft is missing from the CS32 facility. I need you to track—”
“Actually, sir,” said Hanshin, “it’s landing on the roof in forty-five seconds.”
The corners of Dr. Xemura’s mouth twitched upwards. “Dispatch a team. I want Dr. Collins secured in an interrogator and I want the cargo returned to CS32 immediately.”
“I don’t want to land there!” yelled Ailsa.
The hovercraft slowed as it approached XLS1. Men in black with helmets and long rifles filed onto the roof. They waited next to the circle with a letter ‘H’ inside.
“Don’t make me kill you!” yelled Ailsa.
The engines cut out and the craft jerked downwards before the thrusters kicked in with a roar and lowered the vessel gently down to the hoverpad.
The soldiers surrounded them.
“Mommy?” whispered Texa. She wrapped her arms around Ailsa’s neck. Her bloated abdomen got in the way and she screamed in pain.
“It hurts now?” asked Ailsa.
Texa grimaced. “A lot.”
“Open—” started Zora.
Ailsa climbed into the front seat and jammed the knife up against her chest. “Get us out of here! Now!”
Zora looked at her with dead eyes. She hit the red button and the hatch opened. The soldiers pointed their rifles at them and approached.
Ailsa searched the panel with her eyes. She hit a yellow button that said “Manual” under it and grabbed the co-pilot’s steering wheel. The craft hovered just above the deck and moved slowly towards the soldiers.
“Damnit!” yelled Ailsa. She searched the panel again. She hit the red button and the hatch slowly closed. A soldier reached them and got his arm inside. He grabbed Ailsa’s neck and squeezed.
Ailsa’s breath rasped in her throat. The soldier pinned her to the seat. Her hand would not reach the panel. Zora hit the red button before the hatch finished closing on the soldier’s arm.
Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a green button. Ailsa extended her fingers but they would not reach. She brought up her foot and jammed it into the console.
The craft jetted straight up into the air. It bumped into a lime green blimp and careened wildly into gray sky. The scream of the wind deafened her. The soldier in black pulled himself up and got his arm into the cabin. He pulled a pistol from under his arm and aimed it Ailsa.
Ailsa buried her knife in his throat. Blood spurted on her and he fell away. She dropped the knife inside the cabin and tried in vain to wipe the blood from her hands and face.
An alarm sounded. Ailsa held onto the steering wheel but her body floated up. “What do I do?” she yelled.
Zora reached over and hit the yellow button again. She closed the hatch. The craft righted itself and glided smoothly towards XLS1 again.
Ailsa searched the floor for the knife. It was under her seat. She grabbed but it slipped from her fingers. She reached around the back of her seat, clutched the knife and jammed it through Zora’s arm. It lodged in the seatback. Ailsa hit the yellow button again and accelerated the ship forward.
Zora screamed. Her eyes got big. “How— How could you…?” She stared open-mouthed at the green metal that protruded from her upper arm.
Ailsa hit a blue ‘Land’ button. The engines cut out and the craft hurtled toward the ground below. She looked out the window. Below them, four lanes of aircars crawled south.
“What do I do?” Ailsa yelled to Zora.
Zora’s eyes were closed and she breathed deliberately.
Ailsa hit the blue button again and the engines restarted. She was thrown against the steering wheel.
Texa slammed into the seat in front of her.
Zora pulled the knife out of her arm. She screamed and set it between her and the wall of the craft.
Ailsa looked around in a daze. The craft continued forward, skimming above the tops of the four-lane airway.
Zora grabbed the controls and guided them back in the direction of XLS1.
Ailsa turned around. “Are you okay, Texa?”
Texa lay on the floor. She did not move.
“Texa!” Ailsa yelled. She turned to Zora. “Set us down, now!”
“Or what?” asked Zora. She narrowed her eyes at Ailsa. “You have nothing more to threaten me with.”
The black towers of XLS1 took shape ahead of them through puffy, ash-colored clouds.
Ailsa stared at her. “You would do the same thing in my shoes.”
Zora scowled and narrowed her eyes.
“Anyway,” said Ailsa, “you need treatment now. I’ll just keep fighting you till you bleed out up here.”
Zora took a deep breath and let it out. She veered the craft to the right. They circled down in a corkscrew pattern. She hit the blue button. “This is the best I can do. You don’t belong in a cage but this is the wrong way to do it. Dr. Xemura is a reasonable—”
Ailsa reached across and hit the red button. The hatch opened. She grabbed Texa and hopped out into the smoggy, gray London afternoon. A burning sensation erupted in her calf and she fell to her knees.
Ailsa picked herself up. She waded out into the street-level traffic with an unconscious Texa in her arms.
A white truck honked a complex and angry melody at her. It swerved to avoid her.
A billboard driver didn’t see her until the last moment. He turned hard to the left and clipped her with his rear bumper. Ailsa and Texa flew to the ground.
A black taxi stopped. A portly, giant man with curly, raven hair emerged from inside of the tiny car. “Hey, you! You hit this woman and her child,” he yelled.
The billboard driver stuck his head out the window and looked at Ailsa.
Ailsa stirred.
“She’ll be fine, mate. I’ll leave her in your more than capable hands,” said the billboard driver. He started his rig back up and continued down the road.
The taxidriver looked at his cab. Other vehicles honked at him. His work console lit up the inside of his vehicle. He looked back at Texa and Ailsa. They weren’t moving.
“I’ve got an emergency here, darling,” said the taxidriver. He sat in the front seat of the cab. A nurse appeared on his viewscreen. “Two—”
“Please,” whispered Ailsa from the back seat. “Just get us out of here.”
“What’s your name?” asked the taxidriver.
Ailsa struggled to sit up straight. “Drive, just drive!” she yelled. She looked at the viewscreen in his headrest. “Gabriel,” it said.
Gabriel turned around.
“Gabriel,” she said. She leaned forward and looked him in the eye. “My daughter and I are escaping from this… corporation… this Dr. Xemura.”
“Xemura?” Gabriel asked.
She looked at the headrest viewscreen again. Gabriel’s last name was written in tall, fat letters: XEMURA. Ailsa held her breath.
She grabbed for the door handle and pulled. It would not open. “Let us out!”
She looked through the rear window. The black-suited soldiers ran towards the small cab.
Gabriel turned around. “I’m going to help you—”
Ailsa narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you?”
“Don’t worry about that yet, darling,” said Gabriel. He punched the accelerator and they flew up into the air.
Gabriel descended against an approaching bank of storm clouds and parked the car hig
h in the alley between two darkened red brick factories.
Ailsa reclined in the back seat. She hugged Texa tight to her. “Why are we stopping?” she asked. It was dark outside. All she saw were broken windows. The darkness inside the old factories made her shiver.
Gabriel twisted his giant frame in the driver’s seat to look Ailsa in the face. He smiled without showing any teeth. “I need to know everything.”
“Why? What do you want from us?” Ailsa studied his face. It was strong and tired.
“Tell him, Mom,” said Texa. “I think we can trust him.”
“Quiet,” she said to Texa. “What are you to him?”
Gabriel sighed. “He’s my brother.”
“Why is that guy’s brother driving a cab?” Ailsa asked.
The three of them lounged in Gabriel’s living room. The couch was too shallow, the seat cushions bowed and peppered with dark spots but it was comfortable and cool. Their backs were to the front door.
Texa bounced in her seat. She looked at the ceiling and back down. “Can I watch your viewscreen?” she asked.
“Sure,” said Gabriel. “Viewscreen on,” he said. “Go ahead and tell it what you want, darling.”
Across from the couch, giant moving images appeared in crystal clarity.
Gabriel got up, turned right and walked to the kitchen. He pulled out some bread, mayonnaise and sliced meat. He carried them over and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Help yourselves.”
Ailsa glared at him. “So, your brother…”
“Oh, right,” said Gabriel. He sat back down. “Well, when we were kids, he was the Hawking. Brilliant in science, aced all the tests, teacher’s pet. The whole thing.”
“Mom,” said Texa, “the audio subscription still works! I can hear the sound great. Thanks, Mom. I love you.” She smiled and kept bouncing with her eyes glued to the viewscreen.
Ailsa smiled at her. She raised her eyebrows at Gabriel.
“He won a science competition. He was adopted by Monsanto. And they educated him.” He sighed. “But I haven’t seen him since. I see his ads and all that. But not him.”
Ailsa fixed herself a sandwich. “I am so hungry,” she whispered.
Defiant, She Advanced: Legends of Future Resistance Page 19
