The Saffron Malformation

by Walker, Bryan

  Leone’s lips curled and he ducked his head to hide his goofy lovers smile.

  Rain bounced once on the balls of her feet and then hurried away from him. She tried not to think as she made her way to the elevator and took it down to the first floor. She made it to the door behind the staircase without coming across anyone and slipped into the garage unnoticed. Once there she replaced the fuel cell in Reggie’s blue four door and raced down the crumbling highway.

  The first day went fast. She drove in silence constantly mulling over what she would do when she arrived at her destination. She’d sent the e-mail without a plan. She’d slipped away without a plan. She was on the road without a plan. All that was fine but if she got there without a plan, things would go very badly indeed.

  Day broke again and it did so too quickly. Had she really driven all night, it seemed only minutes instead of hours. The waste started to show signs of life, small batches of green and a little bit of brown, and then she saw trees and bushes up ahead. She came to the place where the highway met with other roads, these were all in good repair. They were the roads people took to avoid the waste.

  She followed the pavement that kept her moving east and a half hour later there was an exit coming up that advertised food and lodging. She didn’t feel the need for either but since she had no intention of sleeping she figured she should at least eat.

  She ordered an egg and cheese wrap and a big cup of water from the plump woman with curly red hair standing behind the counter of a diner just off the highway. “And can I get it foots out the door,” she added as she hurried to the rest room. She was pretty sure the last thing she drank was the three shots of vodka back in Ryla’s Robo-tronics compound, but still she had to go so bad it burned.

  When she came back the woman had set her water on the counter and she drank it feverishly, then bothered her for another. Her food didn’t take long, as long as scrambling eggs and tossing them inside a flour burrito can, so soon she was back on the road. As she merged onto the highway, mostly free of traffic save a few rigs running whatever to wherever, she took her first bite of the breakfast burrito and suddenly she was starving. She scarfed it down inside a minute and wished she had another.

  To pass the time she ran everything though her head over and over again. It was a simple enough plan and that was supposed to be the best kind, or so they claimed. As the afternoon turned to dusk she glossed over everything in her head one last time and she discovered a snag. Her heart raced. Everything was fucked. Nothing was going to work. She should turn around now.

  Then it clicked, ‘That won’t be a problem because you’ve already taken care of it.’ Relief swarmed her and she finished the last of her water. She’d been thinking too long and her brain needed a rest.

  Outside the world grew darker, the sky near the horizon was a spray of secondary colors, so she reached over and clicked on the headlights. Her eyes drifted toward the window beside her. There were towns just off the road, buildings and houses clustered beneath massive rain catchers, nestled in amongst the trees and for the first time in years Rain allowed herself to miss living somewhere. She’d spent so long trying to keep one step ahead, always considering where it was off to next that she rarely took moments to relish what she’d had once.

  There was a small city off to the left of the highway. She couldn’t see much of it, no buildings higher than a dozen stories, but she saw the massive rain breaks built over the area. She remembered what a treat it was to go into Saffron City and stand under those filters on a wet day when the filtered water would fall onto the city, letting it drizzle onto her, soaking her clothes and beading on her skin.

  She recalled the time she and Leone had played in the park while the filtered rain drummed down on them. It had been when they’d lived in the two-bedroom she’d rented off campus for a while. Leone never much liked the rain, but she looked forward to a dripping day. She loved to play in it and on that particular day, so had he.

  The memory brought a smile to her lips but it also made her sad. She decided it was good she didn’t relish in the past and what might or could have been, because even if everything worked out somehow, it was unlikely she’d ever have it again.

  Even if everything worked out…

  Her mind lingered on that for a spell and after a while she felt comfortable she had all the glitches in her plan mapped out.

  Near as she could tell there were only three things that could really snag her. The first was the least likely, and that was the possibility that he wouldn’t believe her reply message. She didn’t think that likely because her father only knew Viona Crow. He’d never met Rain, and Viona Crow would type just that sort of letter and she would show up to a meeting she’d set under terms and guidelines she thought placed her in control. Rain was more sly than that, however, and good faith meant nothing to her.

  Another possible snag was that her father could be telling the truth. Maybe he really did want to make amends. She had to admit it could be a possibility, and couldn’t help but feel her heart flutter at the thought. She almost laughed at that. How much evil would he have to do for her to finally truly give up on him?

  She remembered the last time she went home. She recalled sitting with him in his study, drinking wine and hashing everything out. It’d felt good, like dinner that night had, all of them around the table, laughing and telling stories.

  ‘…all except mother,’ a voice inside reminded her.

  That’s right, there was that.

  Her heart sank.

  As much as she may like the idea of going home again, it wasn’t possible. Besides, his message being sincere made the third potential snag an absolute.

  She was nearing the turnpike and saw the sign that pointed north toward Praume and held the wheel steady, driving past it and toward the sign that pointed east toward Saffron City.

  The third snag was that he might actually leave Sticklan Stone behind.

  Night was thick around her as she approached Saffron City. You could see it an hour or more away, a tightly packed cluster of lights that sprawled across the flatlands to the east and stretched high into the air. It was home to just over ten million people but from a distance it looked like a child’s toy. She watched the lights as she drove and in what seemed like moments she was passing them.

  With the city behind her she felt her nerves begin to tighten. She pulled off into a rest area and popped the trunk before stepping out into the parking lot. There were two other vehicles, one was a van packed tight with gear and the other a car with four doors. They were parked a dozen or so spots away. It looked like a group on a road trip stopping to take a piss and let the golden lab they had in their company run about for a bit. She laughed at that, people living ordinary lives, probably had jobs and houses of their own and now they were choosing to leave all that and hit the road for fun. Her home had been the road for years now. Her vacations were the times she’d found a house and was able to set a spell.

  Anger and frustration struggled in her guts. It wasn’t what she wanted, not for herself and not for Leone. She was going to put an end to it tonight. In the trunk was her ninja gear, at least that’s what she called it. Really it was just a black outfit that fit snug, moved freely, and breathed well along with some shoes with soft soles and a fresh grip. She used the ladies room to change and then got a bottle of water from a vending machine before heading back onto the road. In less than twenty kilometers there would be another set of exits and one of those would take her to her father’s house.

  The wall surrounding the five acres of property the house stood on was ten feet high and made of polished stone that glistened in the moonlight. She touched it, ran her hand along its smooth surface and smiled. As a little girl she’d loved the wall, the way it shimmered and always looked wet. It had been meant to protect her then, to keep kidnapers and other bad people away, now she was the bad people and it was in her way.

  The first thing she did was park the car as close to the wall as she
could manage. Then she climbed onto the roof and pulled herself up so she could see over the wall. The gate was in the north side and there was a long driveway that led back to the front door. Tonight there was a single guard posted in the little building near the gate. That was a good sign.

  There were no cars in the drive but that didn’t really tell her anything. Rain lowered herself back onto the roof of the car, careful not to lose her footing, then sat and unfolded her sheet. She opened the app she used to track Sticklan’s car and the uplink number on her father’s personal device. They were north of Saffron City, though not as far north as they should have been.

  She puzzled for a moment. Maybe he hesitated. Maybe he’d set a trap for her at that little diner she told him to meet her at. Perhaps Blue Moon Security was set to lock the whole town down as soon as they thought she was inside. Anything was possible.

  Rain climbed off the roof and back into the car before pulling down to the southeast corner. Her father was a stubborn arrogant bastard who never listened to anyone, especially not her mother who had told him dozens of times that he should trim the tree near that section of wall. She warned him that one day someone was going to climb right over and wander in. “It’ll be fine,” he told her in that tone that meant ‘shut up and leave me alone.’

  Rain smiled at that as she climbed to the first thick branch extending out and over the wall. The house was hundreds of yards away, a massive structure of wood and stone with only a few lights burning in windows. As a dark shape in the shadows she dropped to the grass and felt her nerves jump. This was it. Nowhere to go now but forward.

  She stayed near the wall for as long as she could. She knew the grounds well, they had been her playground during her first six years and then as she reached pubescence she used to walk them to settle her mind or get away from her parents or brothers. Now her feet fell with certainty, even the divits and roots that popped up from time to time were the same.

  Time moved strangely, as if she were disconnected from it and floating freely atop it. She remembered being hundreds of yards from the house only moments ago and now she was in the flower garden less than fifty from the side door. It was an entrance used mostly by servers. She checked the time. Just after nine. The house wouldn’t be on lockdown yet, and with her father away it actually might not go into lockdown at all.

  She moved toward the door without thinking and then she was at the house and strangely calm. There was still time, she thought briefly as she stood looking at the door. It would be difficult but she was smart, she could find a way back over the wall. All she had to do was turn around and walk away.

  After a deep sigh she reached out and took the doors knob in her hand.

  Inside hadn’t changed. The door led to a small area where deliveries could be made and servants could take their occasional breaks. There was a refrigerator that hummed dully beside a countertop that stretched the length of the wall. On it were two coffee pots a toaster and a microwave. In the middle of the room was a round table surrounded by six empty chairs, only two were pushed in.

  Rain moved toward the door in the far wall and opened it slowly. Quiet. She didn’t expect much commotion; with her father gone it was likely the house staff was taking the time to rest. Probably having a drink from his collection and catching up on their favorite programs streaming on the network’s signal.

  She slipped from the room into the hallway and started toward the main area of the house, ears always open, eyes always watching. She could hear her feet like a Clydesdale clomping across the tile but she knew that was in her head. The truth of it was that she was being as quiet as any person can hope to be crossing a hard floor in a large echoey house.

  Again time blurred because before she knew it she was at the living room’s entryway. She looked over at the long couch and two chairs surrounding the coffee table, a holoscreen set against the massive wall they faced. A smile almost came to her as she recalled sitting on that couch with her mother watching programs and laughing. Then she remembered her brothers and father had been there as well and her lips quivered and drooped.

  He wasn’t all bad, or at least he wasn’t always bad. She wasn’t sure which it was but now wasn’t the time to ponder it so she moved on. The west side of the house was where her father’s office rested, down a long and dark hallway. She expected the door to be locked, had been prepared for that, but alas it was open and she hurried inside. With the door shut behind her she leaned upon it and took a long breath. She’d made it. The trip was halfway through.

  ‘Focus,’ she demanded of herself and looked across the room at the desk near the far wall. To her left was a wall of glass that looked out over the acreage on which the house stood. She could see the far end of the property and the wall that ran along it and again it seemed like only moments ago she’d been standing there at the border. Now she was in the den of the beast and that was a dangerous place to be.

  She moved to the desk and clicked on his computer. As she worked she slowly sank into his chair and took a second to acknowledge just how comfortable it was before continuing to work.

  There had been no sound to hear. No footsteps approaching, not even the hinge of the door betrayed him. The lights simply clicked on and Rain looked up, wide eyes full of fear as she looked across the room at her father, Richter Crow, looming just inside the door. He smiled at her. “Did you really think I’d be stupid enough to go all the way to some diner a convenient day’s travel north of here?”

  Stupid girl, she chided herself with a thought. How had she not known? She’d made it over the fence, through the yard, into the house and all the way to this room without running into anyone. There should have been someone, a close encounter of some sort, even if he was away she should have encountered one of the staff or heard them. And the door was unlocked, she reminded herself. He never left the door unlocked. When she’d first snuck into this room all those years ago to copy his hard drive (the act that had gotten her mother killed) she’d had to pick the lock. Fear and desperation had gotten the best of her. She’d hoped it would be this easy and hope had blinded her to the truth. The trap wasn’t in the diner, it was right here, waiting for her.

  “No,” she answered.

  “I did send my cars along with any personal devices you might be clever enough to track, however.”

  “I wouldn’t know how-”

  He chuckled at her. “Don’t lie Viney, it doesn’t suit you.”

  She tapped the enter key once and sat back in the chair.

  “I really did want to talk,” he said. His eyes seemed to plea to her, but she’d known her father her entire life and was well aware of how convincing he could be. She wasn’t going to bite just yet.

  “So talk.”

  He sighed. “I really wish…” He seemed genuinely sad. It confused Viona. She swallowed hard. “I wish you hadn’t come like this.” He shrugged. “It’s my fault I suppose, being such a bastard draws the worst out of people.”

  She had to laugh a bit.

  “I don’t want to fight,” he said, his arms extended slightly at his sides. “I meant what I said in that e-mail.”

  She chewed her lip for a moment.

  “Look at you,” he said, gazing upon her. Looking at her short black hair and the wear the road had put on her. The girl he’d known had been smooth as silk and delicate, the girl sitting in the chair across the room could handle herself, despite her size, and had eyes that had seen more than they should have. She had lines from worrying and more than a few scars. “What happened to my little girl? What did I do to her?”

  There were tears in his eyes. She swallowed hard again. She expected a trap but…

  “I’m here,” she heard herself say.

  “You didn’t come to talk though.” She had no answer. He peered at her. “What did you come for?”

  She hesitated. “Do you really mean to kill the planet?”

  He huffed a chuckle and lowered his eyes. “Where’d you get that idea? Your new
friends?”

  “Is it true?”

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about. And that’s what happens when you lack all the facts.”

  “So explain it to me.”

  “I’m going to get as many people off this planet as I can.”

  “Why not just send for help. Blue Moon-”

  “Blue Moon wants profits. I come to them with a dead world who do you think they’ll blame?”

  She lowered her eyes. “The pylons. They’re going to-”

  “Again, you don’t have all the information.” He approached her. “Listen Viney, I did what I could. I built those towers because my scientists told me they would help. Something went wrong in the equations and the whole thing is fucked.” He looked at her like a child, like Leone used to when he just couldn’t get something right, and she found she didn’t care for that bit of resemblance. “What could I do?”

  It was bullshit. He was selling her a story. Unfortunately, she was buying. “There must be something…”

  “I’ve got the best people in the world working on this.”

  She shook her head, “Why cut off the universal network? Why red flag the planet.”

  “I cut off the network because at the time something similar was happening on another world, they’d developed a waste and it had spread, only their’s more rapidly and their corporation had left them to die.”

  “Zin Jo Aun?”

  He nodded. “You think things are bad now, wait till you see what happens when an entire planet panics. Proof that our ancestry is in primates lies at the heart of an angry mob. Piss enough people off and they aren’t people anymore. They’re just monkeys in space.”

  She sat back in her chair chewing her lip and rocking back and forth. He was close, no more than a few steps away, his arms still at his sides, his eyes still begging but for what? Forgiveness? A thought occurred to her and suddenly she was ice. “Sticklan hurt Leone.”