by Tammy Walsh
And this time, there would be no hope of escape. He wouldn’t take any chances.
I would be trapped there forever.
Just when that sense of terror washed over me, the world turned fuzzy and faded to black.
I jolted awake in what felt like an instant later. It really was like falling asleep.
I coughed and sputtered but it wasn’t as bad as last time. Was my body getting used to it? Or had I only been in there a much shorter length of time?
Some of the other passengers reacted worse than I had. They threw up into bags they took into the pods with them. I guess they were frequent freezers.
I swung my legs out from the pod but I wasn’t ready to stand up just yet. I took a moment to gather myself. Once I felt like I wouldn’t hurl the moment I stood up, I unlocked the cabinet and put my clothes back on.
I followed the other passengers as they left the ship. It was much like passing through a regular airport after that. Instead of passports, the officials scanned our eyes. Those without eyes got their armpits read, for some reason.
Then we joined the luggage collection area. It wasn’t a carousel. Tunnels rolled down from the ceiling and placed the luggage right in front of the travelers, who didn’t even break their stride. The fancier travelers had floating luggage.
My bag was small enough to carry and didn’t even have wheels. The S’mauggai alien skin design was getting some appreciative looks from the elites, although I thought it was a hideous-looking thing.
I emerged from the spaceport and breathed my first lungful of totally free air on a brand-new planet.
I felt revitalized. Renewed. Ready to face the world.
I had escaped Asshole.
And I had no idea what I was supposed to do next.
I wandered through the streets as the sun rose on a beautiful day. I suffered a bad case of deja vu when the sun rose again. Two sets of shadows moved across the tarmac from the twin stars in the sky. One was much larger and brighter, the other more distant.
I took a seat at a bench and hugged my bag to my chest. Maybe running away hadn’t been the best idea after all. I mean, at least I had a roof over my head. I should have prepared more. I should have figured out what I wanted to do before I just went out and ran like that.
My breaths came in panicked bursts and I could hardly breathe.
Stay calm! I told myself. Everything will work out fine!
But I was lost in space. I didn’t know where I was—beyond the fact I was on a very alien planet—and I had no idea what I was meant to do next.
I didn’t know anyone.
I was an abductee.
I was going to die.
I can’t do this.
Take it easy!
I should go to a police station and tell them I was abducted. I didn’t need to tell them anything about Master. Maybe they arranged free trips back to homeworlds for people like me?
Or maybe they kept a database of missing slaves and returned them to their masters when they were discovered.
“I will find you,” Asshole had said.
He sounded so sure, so confident. Would he feel that certain if the system wasn’t rigged in his favor?
This world looked so normal, so similar to Earth that it was hard to think I wasn’t abroad in a foreign country.
That’s it, I decided. I wasn’t on an alien world an unthinkable distance from home. I was in a foreign country. I needed to make money to buy a ticket and return home.
That’s all.
I needed to get money. I had nothing right now, except the few credits the kind worker at the spaceport had left me. She said I would be hungry when I arrived and they wouldn’t provide me with food, so I ought to grab something as soon as I could.
I clutched my fancy designer S’mauggai bag close and crossed the street to an alien diner. A noise rang above the door. It wasn’t a bell or even an electronic sound. It was a high-pitched whine that Dracula used to make in old movies.
“Take a seat,” a buxom Titan waitress said.
She collected two plates of food from the front counter and carried them over to a pair of customers waiting at a corner booth. I couldn’t help but notice some of the food was still moving.
I slid into a booth and got comfortable. I was inside. It felt a little safer in here than outside.
It was like a Denny’s, only everything seemed a little… off. The coffee was a thick sludge that barely moved when you tilted it sideways. The food screamed when the customers speared it with their forks.
Little things like that.
The waitress handed me a menu. I peered at each moving image. Everything was gelatinous and writhed on the page. I didn’t think I could eat anything there… until I reached a very familiar-looking meal. I couldn’t believe my luck.
“I’ll have the fried breakfast, please,” I said.
“Are you sure you want that?” the waitress said. “It’s a bit risky at this time in the morning.”
“Isn’t that bacon?” I said.
“Yes.”
“And that’s toast? And eggs?”
“It is.”
I dug out the remaining credits I had and dumped them on the table.
“Do I have enough?” I said.
The waitress glanced at the credits and nodded.
“You do,” she said.
“Then I’ll have it, thanks.”
“All right,” the waitress said, jotting down my order and collecting my menu. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
She yelled the order at the chef, which made me wonder why she even bothered to scribble it down in the first place.
“Excuse me,” I said to the waitress as she tucked the notepad and pencil away. “I just arrived in town and I was wondering how I should go about finding a job here.”
“Well, that’s easy,” the waitress said.
“It is?” I said, feeling a little hopeful.
“Just wear these,” the waitress said, digging inside the front pocket of her apron and coming out with a pair of headphones.
She nodded to the other side of the booth and left.
That’s it? I thought. It looked like an advertisement for a local electronics store, not for jobs.
I wasn’t sure where to plug the headphones lead. I ran my hands along the table’s edges until I came to a series of holes on one side. I slipped the lead in but it was jammed with something someone had shoved into it. I tried the second one. That one worked.
The sound boomed in my ears as the advert on the wall began to play. Then they morphed into holograms, dancing on the tabletop.
“Do you have piles?” the voiceover said.
The entire ad paused and waited for me to respond.
“Uh, no,” I said.
“Piles can be very painful,” the voiceover continued. “That’s why we at Shlazzac Healing Ointments Ltd have devised a way to—”
“How do I skip the adverts?” I said.
The advert froze and the next one played.
“Josilandrix was doing her weekly food shopping when she slipped over and banged her head—” the voiceover said.
“Next,” I said. “No, wait. Can I search?”
A single empty bar popped up in front of me. The cursor blinked like on a computer back home.
“Search for local job listings,” I said.
The search ran and came back with 2,679 results.
“Okay… Filter by type job,” I said.
The system filed them into two dozen different categories—many I had never heard of before. But there was one that caught my eye.
“Open Teaching Positions,” I said.
The jobs opened into a long list. Right then, I would have taken just about any job I could get but I decided to aim high.
“Sort jobs by pay, highest to lowest,” I said.
The system performed the action. At the top was what looked to be the perfect job.
Feeling a little awkward, I reached out a hand and pr
essed at the floating job posting.
GOVERNESS WANTED
FULL-TIME POSITION
MUST LIVE-IN
WELL PAID
REPLY FOR AN INTERVIEW
I hit the button marked “Reply,” and expressed my interest in the job. I outlined my experience and said I could start right away. I was available any time for an interview.
The reply came immediately. No welcome, no introduction, just a time and an address.
I checked the clock. It was in two hours.
The town wasn’t that big. Surely I could get there in time?
“Find what you were looking for?” the waitress said as he slid my breakfast onto the table.
I was relieved to find it looked just like the image on the menu.
“I think so,” I said. “I need to get to this address. Do you know where it is?”
I leaned aside so she could see it. Instead, she moved the screen toward herself.
“Oh, high class, huh?” the waitress said. “Well, la di da.”
“It’s a rich area?” I said.
Of course it was. Normal people couldn’t afford a governess. Especially not a live-in one. Well, I didn’t care. I was confident with my teaching skills. I wouldn’t let a little thing like nerves get the better of me.
The waitress gave me directions. She said I could walk it in about thirty minutes.
“Now, final warning on the meal,” the waitress said. “I wouldn’t want you suffering during your interview.”
I lifted a piece of bacon with my fingers and bit into it. No screams, no yelps of pain. It was salty and crispy and delicious.
“I don’t think you’re going to have to worry,” I said.
The waitress frowned.
“Enjoy your meal,” she said.
I groaned with joy at the crispy food. I was an oddity on this planet. A freak.
So what was new?
Traes
“I can’t do this anymore! It’s too much!”
Governess Puem-Gleb stomped toward the front door, her elbows swinging high and almost taking my eye out.
I struggled to keep up with her.
“I’ll increase your pay,” I said. “Name your price. Whatever you want.”
“No amount could ever make it worthwhile!”
I doubted that. Everyone had their price. Now was the very worst time for Governess Puem-Gleb to quit. I was right in the middle of an important business project and needed someone to take care of Cleb.
“Stay just a few more days,” I said. “While we find your replacement.”
Waev extended the governess’s hat and coat but she was still in the throes of having her apoplectic fit.
“I apologize, but I cannot,” she said. “That child… he’s a demon and a miscreant! He will never amount to anything so long as he doesn’t apply himself. Your nephew is without a doubt the most disgraceful, mannerless, evil little child I’ve ever had the misfortune of dealing with!”
Okay, so that was below the belt.
“He might be a handful—” I admitted.
“There’s an understatement!” she cried.
“But he is still a child that deserves love and understanding,” I said. “So long as I’m his uncle, I will ensure he gets both.”
The old crone threw her head back and barked a hideous laugh.
“You’re no more capable of giving that boy love than he is of behaving himself,” she said. “Good luck finding a replacement!”
I ground my teeth and snatched her coat and hat from Waev’s hands and gave them to her.
“Then I thank you for your service,” I said stiffly.
She waved a hand as if she were commanding a servant.
“You may send my earnings to the bank account I gave you,” she said.
“What earnings?” I said calmly.
“I’ve worked here two weeks,” she said. “Longer than anyone else could ever last, I might add.”
“If you’ll check your contract, you’ll find you’re meant to give one month’s notice,” I said. “So long as you quit within that time, you’re not entitled to any pay. You’re free to work the month off and then quit but not a moment before.”
I knew it was harsh but she shouldn’t have insulted Cleb. He was a child. Sometimes they misbehaved. And with her attitude, I wasn’t sure I wanted her near him.
She stared at me, open-mouthed.
“You can’t be serious!” she said.
“You agreed to the contents of the contract when you signed it,” I said.
I learned quickly from my mistakes with the other governesses who suddenly quit under similar circumstances. I didn’t like to make the same mistake twice.
The new development gave the old crone pause for thought.
“Perhaps I was a little hasty—” she said.
Oh no! I wasn’t about to let her get away with insulting my nephew like that—even if he did deserve it sometimes. You didn’t talk down to children, not at the age when they were more impressionable and such things could have a lasting effect.
“It’s fine,” I said. “I’ll use your payment to find your replacement. If there’s any leftover, I’ll pass it along to you.”
The old crone screwed up her mouth and jammed her ugly hat on her square head.
“Fine,” she said. “I wouldn’t stay here another minute if you paid me!”
“Which I’m not,” I said calmly.
I ushered her out the door and slammed it in her face. I leaned my back against the door and pinched the bridge of my nose, feeling a headache coming on. It was dull and pulsed deep in my skull, working its way up to the back of my eye socket.
It was the kind of headache only Cleb was capable of giving me.
“She forgot to take her possessions,” Waev said, well used to this show by now. “What do you wish to do with them?”
“Forward them to her new address,” I said. “If she doesn’t want it, donate everything to a children’s charity.”
“Very good, sir,” Waev said.
He bowed stiffly. It wasn’t his shoes or his starched uniform that creaked when he leaned forward. It was his body. The man was nothing but a collection of old rules and regulations. He ruled the household with an iron fist.
Now I needed to find another governess. I thought hiring someone similar to the one I’d had when I grew up would straighten Cleb out. Every child had their teething problems but this was beyond a joke.
Three governesses in as many months. I was beginning to think Cleb really was a demon.
“Post the governess position on the message boards again,” I said.
“I never took them down, sir,” Waev said.
“Good,” I said. “Maybe next time we’ll find someone he’ll like.”
“Chances are excellent, sir,” Waev said.
No doubt he felt as sure of that as I did.
I felt tired. Dog tired.
“What am I going to do with him, Waev?” I said. “I try to give him everything a boy his age needs—access to all the things I never had when I was a kid—and he keeps acting up.”
“You’re doing everything you can, sir,” Waev said. “No one could demand more from you. What with your workload, it’s difficult to spend more time with Cleb. Many children would kill for the same advantages he has.”
“But not all kids have been through the same terrible experience,” I reminded him.
Waev nodded and his body creaked.
It was difficult for me to lose my sister, so what was it like for a boy of Cleb’s age to lose both parents? I couldn’t even imagine.
Waev coughed politely behind his hand that spoke volumes.
I turned to find Cleb standing in the doorway to the front room. He was a little man that liked to wear smart suits. When he first came to live with me, he wore trendy clothes his parents had bought for him. I supposed wearing black suits was his way of mourning his parents.
“Has she gone?” he said.
&nb
sp; He knew she was. The whole household knew. The whole street knew. And soon, the rumors would swirl through the upper classes once again about my poor parenting skills. What did they expect? I never married, never had children. And now I’d been left to take charge of my sister’s only son.
Still, it was a better subject for rumors than those concerning how my sister and her husband lost their lives. I’d taken special pains to ensure no one ever learned the truth. It’d been surprisingly difficult to discover. I doubted any of them—as much as they might make the attempt—would put in half as much effort as I had.
The truth had shocked me. It’d cost a small fortune to solve that particular problem and ensure neither Cleb nor the family name suffered from the fallout.
Cleb was under my protection now and would be for the rest of his life.
It wasn’t like I had much choice in the matter. Not only was I Cleb’s uncle, I was his godfather. My sister promised it was a ceremonial title, that I would never have to do any actual caring for the child.
Familiar with contracts and legal loopholes, I said I’d prefer not to have the title and just be Cleb’s uncle.
But my dear sister had insisted.
Had she known even then how she would die?
I didn’t believe in coincidences.
They died in that terrible accident and I got a knock on my door. A late-night delivery of a large trunk of Cleb’s things and the boy himself.
I got in contact with other family members—cousins, aunts, uncles on both sides of the family… and none would take him. It wasn’t that they weren’t open to the idea. It was just that I was Cleb’s godfather and they figured my sister chose me to take care of him for a reason.
No one ever told me what that reason was.
I let Cleb choose his bedroom. He decided on the one furthest from my own and for the longest time, he refused to come out. I invited friends’ children over to play with him, signed him up to various sports teams and meeting groups…
All for nothing.
He never played with the others and always sat by himself.
The worst part was, I wasn’t even sure if that was normal for him. I’d never exactly been the most… attentive uncle.
