In the Lurch

by Beth Martin

  She finally got it—what life was like for most people, those who weren’t born into incredible wealth. This incredible struggle was an integral part of their day-to-day lives. She wept again, this time with remorse for the rest of humanity, the people she had grown up despising.

  When she was able to calm down a little bit, she knew what she needed to do. She needed to find Roemell and tell him that she finally understood. She would do everything within her power to contribute to a community, working to build other people up and not just herself.

  She stood and brushed away her tears. Her face was smudged with soot, but at that moment, she didn’t care. After she took care of more important matters and got back to the settlement, she could take a moment to clean herself.

  Following the path around the house to the emergency shelter, she went inside to talk to the computer system. “Hey, are there any cars left?” A moment later, one of the security monitors flipped to a screen showing a Jeep parked outside of the remains of a storage facility. “Great. Send Chad to fetch it and meet me outside the kitchen.” She rushed out of the shelter and dashed back to the main house.

  Once in the kitchen, she threw open the fridge and grabbed as much food as she could carry. She brought an armful of goods outside to the courtyard and set them down on the bench before going back in to grab more. As she brought the second load out, the Jeep came up to the side of the house and parked just outside the hedges lining the patio.

  “Help me load this food into the car,” she called to Chad. The robot hopped out of the driver seat and took a few packages, then put them in the back seat of the car as she went inside to fetch more. Once she had cleared all the food from the fridge, she took everything from the pantry that still looked somewhat edible.

  With help from the android, she had the Jeep packed with all the available food items within fifteen minutes. When she hopped in the driver seat, Chad stood beside her door. “Miss Leona, please let me drive you.”

  She smiled down at the cautious bot. “I figured out how to use one of these the last time I had to drive. I’ll be fine. And this is something I really need to do on my own.”

  The android nodded, then stepped aside to let the Jeep pass. “I’ll be back soon,” she added. “While I’m gone, all the robots and computers need to deactivate. I don’t want the security androids to reboot for any reason.” She wouldn’t take the risk of having another fatal accident. It was also a step to show Roemell that she was on his side.

  “Shut down will begin in thirty seconds. Twenty-nine, twenty-eight…” She could hear the robot continue to count down as she shifted the Jeep into gear and drove away.

  • • •

  Roemell tried to silently stalk through the fields. His heart hammered in his chest, his nerves on edge even more so than normal. He was hyper aware of how one false move would signal the security androids, and he wasn’t the only person they’d find trespassing. No matter what had happened in the past, he didn’t like putting other people in danger. He paused a moment to take a deep breath before continuing on, but it didn’t really help.

  He ducked down as an android whizzed ahead of him, scanning the fields. It was gone so quickly, he wasn’t sure if he had evaded the bot, or if it had seen him, but didn’t register his presence as a threat. Surely the security bots remembered him from the previous day.

  Keeping low to the ground, he traveled forward to the edge of the current field and into the next. This one was a grid of avocado trees. His stomach growled, and he didn’t hesitate to pull a ripe fruit from the tree. He tore away the skin using his teeth, then took a bite of the soft, green flesh. He closed his eyes for a moment as he savored the flavor, but focused again on his surrounds a few seconds later. He discarded the rest of the half-eaten snack before looking around for other robots and advancing forward.

  When he made it to the end of the rows of trees, he grabbed an avocado that was almost ripe and slipped it into his pocket before moving through the next field. He was getting close to the carnival and needed to keep his wits about him.

  After weaving through a few more rows of plants, he came to the fence which circled around all the rides. Everything was dark and still. All of this infrastructure for the pleasure of only a handful of people. He shook his head and muttered, “What a waste.” If they had something like this at the settlement, the rides would never get a rest.

  He tried to push the excesses of the wealthy out of his mind as he checked to make sure no security bots were in sight. Fairly confident that he was in the clear, he climbed the fence, threw his feet over the top, and dropped down on the other side. He crouched to the ground and looked around him, making sure he hadn’t landed in a trap. Everything was quiet. He was good.

  This was the west end of the carnival, but he needed to be at the north corner where the Ferris wheel was located. His stomach turned as he passed the eggbeater ride on his way to the emergency shelter. The feeling stopped him in his tracks. He looked around once more to make sure no robots were watching, then crept along the path to the Ferris wheel. Dropping to his knees, he crawled up to the double doors which were set at an angle on the ground, directly below the platform for getting into the ride.

  He paused. Why was he doing this? What had happened to Leona was horrible. She and her father had done nothing wrong to merit such an attack. On the other hand, he had been born into the position she was left with. There was no good reason why her station in life should have been so much better than his, but that didn’t mean she should lose everything.

  But if anyone deserved to be taken down a notch, it was Ava. Just the thought of his fight with her the last time he had been here at this carnival made his blood boil.

  Gripping the large handle on the door, he strained, trying to pull it open, but it didn’t budge. When he let go, a red light on the face of the door flashed, and an alarm blared.

  “Shit,” Roemell swore under his breath. “Stop!” he yelled. To his amazement, the buzzing alarm stopped, although the light kept flashing. “What’s going on?” he asked, mostly to himself.

  He was shocked when the alarm answered. “Companion of Miss Leona Poole identified.” He sat back and sighed. If only the security android had recognized him yesterday.

  “Open emergency shelter doors,” he commanded.

  “Please stand back.” The doors made a hissing noise as they slowly opened. He took the stairs down and looked around. The interior was dimly lit with computer control panels located to his immediate right and the rest of the shelter straight ahead. It was similar to the one at Leona’s estate and even had a small sitting area. The main difference was that the storage lockers and shelving here were still stocked with all the supplies one would ever need.

  His first thought was to bring all of this stuff back to the settlement. It would easily feed the entire community for the next few months. But all these supplies wouldn’t provide a long-term solution. What they really needed was fertile land where they could grow food. If Leona hadn’t been so selfish, his original plan could have worked. But at that moment, he never wanted to see her again.

  His priority now was to make contact with Tina. The Evanko Estate would be her fifth target. Surely destroying that many estates was enough of a statement. He wanted to discuss the ultimate goals for this movement and strategies for inspiring real, lasting change.

  He grabbed a meal bar from the shelf, the kind he used to share with Jovelyn, and took a seat on the firm sofa. Settling into the uncomfortable seat, he tried to relax as he ate the chewy bar, waiting for Tina to show up.

  As more and more time passed, he started to wonder what was taking her so long. He had given her a head start and the location to the shelter. Waiting for over an hour, he got lost in his thoughts.

  A noise broke him out of his spell. Footfalls came from the stairs, and he slowly turned to the entrance to find Tina creeping in, her knife raised in front of her.

  “I was wondering when you’d finally make it,�
� he said.

  Initially, a look of shock crossed her face, but she recovered quickly, dropped down her hands, and tucked the knife back in her pocket. “You. I should have guessed.”

  “I told you where to go. What took you so long?” He gave her a smug smile, proud that he finally had the upper hand over the woman, and he wanted to prolong the feeling.

  She casually walked in and plopped down into a seat. “I know better than to trust urchins like you.” Stretching out her legs, she propped her feet up on the arm of another chair and shot him a challenging look. He could feel his advantage quickly slipping away.

  “What do you mean, people like me? We’re the same.”

  “Right.” She stood and strolled up to the computer control panel. “I’ve got a job to do, so please try to stay out of my way.” Even though his gut told him he should stop her, he remained planted in his spot at the bottom of the stairs. “Send three androids to the emergency shelter,” she said to the control panel.

  Roemell watched, half in horror, half in awe, as Tina instructed the androids when they arrived. She had them change into the black clothing stocked in the shelter, explained how to make the fire bombs, then sent them out to do their damage. There should have been some sort of fail-safe to prevent the robots from destroying their own estate, but these bots appeared more than happy to follow Tina’s orders. Were they always this compliant? He tried to think of some of the ridiculous tasks Leona had requested of her androids, but was too distracted by Tina.

  She commanded the computer systems to feed gasoline through the irrigation pipes and sprinkler systems, then disabled the alarm systems and remaining security bots. “All right, I think that just about does it,” she said before turning to Roemell. “As you can see, I’ve got this all handled on my own. I don’t need an assistant.” Then, she addressed the computer, saying, “Shut down all power except for my helper androids.”

  The computer gave a countdown as the lights flickered off. When it got down to zero, the control panel went dark, and within a few seconds, all the electrical humming faded into silence. Tina walked back to her seat and sat back down. “Now we just wait and watch the estate implode. Exciting, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” he said reluctantly, not actually agreeing.

  “You know, most people would try to stop me. You’re the first person who’s asked to join.”

  He gripped the handrail next to the steps, embarrassed that he had tried to help this woman. She wasn’t trying to incite change—she appeared to relish the carnage which she had caused. Now that he was here, he was disgusted with himself, even though he wasn’t a part of the destruction. However, he hadn’t done anything to stop it, making him just as guilty. “I wanted to be a part of something. I didn’t realize the lurch was just you.”

  She smiled—a wicked smile. “Amazing what one woman can do.”

  “Why do you do it?”

  She settled back and frowned. “Isn’t it clear?”

  He finally took a seat, then shook his head. “Humor me.”

  She leaned forward, gripping her knees with her hands. “The misers need to be sent a message. The only thing that separates them from people like you is all their stuff. Without their robots and land, they’re not special. I’m just reminding them that without all their crap, they’re nothing.”

  His stomach churned, and for a moment he thought he’d be sick. He wanted to provoke thought and inspire a discourse, not instill chaos. He stood up. “I’ve changed my mind. I thought you were trying to do something good, but I can’t be a part of this.”

  As he started ascending the steps out of the shelter, Tina called out, “You should probably wait. Everything is on fire right now. Give it a few hours to die down.”

  He shook his head. “You know, I’ve had a couple run-ins with fire recently and survived both. I’ll take my chances.”

  When he stepped outside the shelter, he paused for a moment to look around. All the plants immediately surrounding the carnival were ablaze. He got his bearings and started walking west. He hoped there would be a break in the flames somewhere to get through.

  Watching the growing fires for a third time, he finally decided that destruction wasn’t part of the answer. He needed to foster life and growth, and Ivan was the only thing he had left worth living for. His nephew was still at the settlement, so that was where Roemell needed to be.

  The trip back to the settlement was much faster in the Jeep. Leona had finally figured out how to smoothly switch gears, and she already saw the lines of tents in the distance. As she slowed down to a stop, two people rushed toward her. She recognized Alisa and the man next to her. He was tall and strong with dark-colored skin, and he had been one of the people who had came to her estate.

  Alisa’s hard face set in a frown when she recognized Leona.

  Leona gestured at the supplies in the back of the car. “I brought food, some first aid stuff—”

  “You’re not welcome back here,” Alisa interrupted in a stern voice.

  Leona hung her head. She slowly opened the car door and climbed down so that she was on the same level as the pair accosting her. “I’m very sorry about Kelly.”

  “Sorry doesn’t cut it.”

  Tears came to Leona’s eyes. “I know. I didn’t think. I’m so used to robots and computers being helpful, and I forgot that they aren’t that way for everyone. But I don’t need machines. I shut them down—permanently. What I need is to be part of a community and work together with good people like you all. And, I came with all the food left from my house.”

  Alisa crossed her arms. “That’s not going to bring Kelly back.” Even though she was trying to make a stand, the man beside her was curiously looking at the Jeep, craning his neck to see what all was inside.

  “I know. All I can do is ask for your forgiveness. But I want to offer my land to the settlement. I don’t have the resources to farm it, but the community can find a better use for it than I can by myself.”

  Alisa sighed. “We could use the medical supplies and fresh food.”

  “You can have the Jeep, too,” Leona said, gesturing at the vehicle. The man smiled at Alisa, taking Leona’s words as an invitation. He jumped into the driver seat and examined all the levers and buttons.

  Alisa gave her a brief, firm hug. “Tammy could use some relief from that little baby. He’s been crying and eating constantly, and she needs some real sleep. You best wash up first, though, microchip.”

  “Thank you,” Leona gushed. She dashed down the line of tents to the supply tent at the end, grabbed a block of soap and fresh clothes, then ran over to the water’s edge. Stripping off her black clothes, she stepped into the ocean and splashed water on herself. The cold water gave her goosebumps but was also refreshing. She rubbed the bar of soap on her skin until some of the soot washed off and a few bubbles appeared. Once her body and face were clean, she raked her fingers through the tangled mess of her hair. She didn’t want to take the time to comb through her curls, so she twisted her locks into a messy bun instead.

  With new clothes on, she went back to the center of the settlement and found Tammy’s green tent. She could already hear Ivan’s cries from outside. “Knock, knock,” she said before opening the door. When Leona went in, she saw Tammy sitting on her cot. The woman’s shirt was off as she tried to press the crying baby to her breast. Her face was red and puffy like she’d been crying. “Hey. Can I help you with anything?”

  First confusion, then relief came over Tammy’s face. “He’s hungry, but he’s too worked up to eat. I can’t get him to calm down.” Her eyes watered, and her voice wavered.

  “Let me take him. I haven’t had much chance to bond with the little guy.”

  “Please,” Tammy said, passing the wiggly bundle at Leona.

  Leona smiled as she scooped up the infant. “Come on, little man. Let’s give Miss Tammy a break.” Before Tammy could protest, Leona slipped out of the tent with the baby. She held him close as she rocked and dance
d around, hoping the constant motion would help soothe him. He kept wailing for a bit before his cries became less intense and, finally, he fell asleep.

  She examined his tiny little face. He only had a few wisps of black hair on his head. His complexion was fair, much lighter than hers. Even though his features were round and soft like every baby’s, he had the same heart-shaped face as his uncle. She knew most infants were born with light-colored eyes, but she hoped his would stay their beautiful, almost amber, color—the same shade as Roemell’s.

  For a moment, she yearned to look into Roemell’s face and get lost in his green eyes. She let her mind linger on the feeling of his lips against hers before shaking her head and pushing out the thought. After what had happened, she had no idea if he would ever forgive her. There was no point torturing herself with romantic thoughts. Plus, she had to focus on survival and her new community. There wasn’t time for that kind of relationship.

  She smiled and cooed at the baby as she continued to sway and walk around. A glance back at the Jeep confirmed that all the supplies had been removed. Now, a group of children were playing in it, climbing all over the seats and jumping atop the hood. Watching them gave her a sense of peace, like she was finally doing something worthwhile. For the first time, she felt like she mattered.

  • • •

  Roemell had no trouble finding a break in the fire line to slip through. He hadn’t considered, however, that the freshly brunt brush would still be incredibly hot. The rubber soles of his shoes started to melt and stick to the ground underneath him as he walked. By the time he realized what had happened, the treads of his sneakers had sloughed away, leaving a sticky mass of rubberized grass and ash. It was a shame. Those were the nicest shoes he had ever owned. He’d have to find a way to repair the bottoms once he got back.

  After traveling for a while, his body was on the brink of exhaustion, so he found a grassy spot to take a nap. Once he was rested and refreshed, it took him a few more hours to get back to the settlement. By the time he returned, the sun was low in the sky. From afar, it looked like they were having a celebration. The beach bonfire was built up to a healthy blaze, and he could see the silhouettes of people dancing as the sun dipped low in the sky. When he got closer, he noticed a Jeep parked behind the tent line. That was new.