Farewell from Paradise

by Saltzman, Brent

  “Well, that’s no fun now, is it?”

  “Can you just tell me who you are?”

  He crossed his arms and smiled. “I’m the wise old man. A cliché from movies and books. One of your favorites. And I represent rationality. The voice of wisdom. That’s one of the reasons I look the way I do. Just one.” He patted his head. “I appreciate the hair, by the way. It was thinning there for a while.”

  The towel fell to the floor when Sam stood. Annoyance was boiling over to exasperation. “Look, can you stop playing these mind games and just tell me who the hell you are?”

  “Mind games.” The Figure reflectively chuckled. “You always had a way of missing the forest through the trees, didn’t you?” He stood up and started for the foyer. “Watch that temper of yours, Mr. Pierce.” He opened the door, stepped out and turned around. “We wouldn’t want Evron corrupting you now, would we?”

  The door slid shut.

  Sam trembled. What just happened? He sipped the tea. Whispered, “Damn, this is good.”

  The door opened.

  It was Delaney. She stepped inside and put her hands on her hips. “I can see by the drippin’ attire that you’ve been doin’ right what I ask and staying inside.”

  “I…uh…”

  “Look, if you want my help Samuel Pierce then you’s gonna have to respect what I say, you got that? Things ain’t gonna work out for neither of us, what with you bein’ a rogue and me bein’ a rogue sympathizer and all that, unless we work together, alright?”

  “Yes. Uh, understood.”

  She came closer. “Now I think I’ve got a few more clothes from my ex that ain’t soaking so let’s—” She stopped when she touched the collar of his jacket, when she realized she was close enough to feel his breath. Their eyes locked. She suddenly looked nervous. “Uh, I’ve uh, I’ve got some clothes you can borrow.” She gulped and backed off.

  “You okay?”

  “Yeah, I just…nothing.” She patted her forehead. “Here.” She opened the closet and threw him some dry clothes. “I’ll, uh, I’ll go outside so you can change in private…”

  “Sure. Thanks.”

  She looked flustered as she walked away. Her face turned a shade of rose. “And get that stupid chair out of here! I don’t like how it looks!”

  She left.

  Sam stood alone. He was holding warm clothes, had fun with a good friend, was drinking his favorite tea and was rooming up with the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

  It was like a dream come true.

  13

  The One Thing

  Beep. Beep. Beep. The tone was comforting. Reassuring. It let everyone know that you were okay. That you were still alive under that inert husk of flesh and bone.

  The doctor went over his numbers. An intern jotted down notes. “Patient has undergone severe abdominal and spine trauma. Possible internal punctures. Appears stable.” He felt Sam’s chest. It slowly moved up and down. Rising. Falling. “Patient is heavily sedated by means of pentobarbital. Brain activity…” He flipped a page on his chart. Squinted. Seemed surprised. “Nominal.”

  A nurse walked in. “Dr. Connors, his family’s here.”

  “Oh, oh good, I guess...”

  He looked up the heart monitor.

  Beep. Beep. Beep…

  Beep! Beep! Beep! The ringing was unbearable. He put his hands over his ears. Groaned. His head pounded. Sharp pain pierced his eyes and drove into his skull when the fluorescent lights flicked on. He rolled over and looked up from the floor next to Delaney’s bed to see her peering down at him. “Rise and shine, sunshine.”

  “How long was I out?”

  “Few hours.” She reached over and pressed a button on the wall. The relentless beeping died. “We get free roam time next. Figured you might want to go grab some grub and we can figure out what we’s gonna do witcha.” She got up out of bed and walked to her closet.

  “I think I’m hungover.” Sam sat up and rubbed his eyes.

  “Serves you right.” She exposed the wall mirror and adjusted her hair. “You should be countin’ your lucky stars that you ain’t in front of the Overseer right now. He’d have processed both of us. And I sure as hell ain’t taken a bullet for you.”

  “I appreciate it.” He stood up and stretched. It was still dark outside. He could hear the thrumming of the perpetual rain on the glass.

  “You better start respectin’ it, too.” She opened the closet and dug through it.

  Sam rubbed the wrinkles out of his clothes. He suddenly remembered something. “There was a man here last night.”

  “Here? In this apartment?”

  “Yeah. He was…this old guy. But he knew stuff about me.” He whispered, “He made my grandma’s tea.” It sounded ridiculous when he said it out loud. “I kind of…recognized him from somewhere. Not sure where, though…”

  “Probably one of your bar buddies. Surprised he didn’t rob ya blind.” She pulled on gray pants and a white shirt. It had the blue ring built in. She checked herself in the mirror. “You ready to go?”

  “Uh…sure? Where’re we going?”

  “Don’t care.” She tied her hair back in the familiar ponytail. “Just gotta get out of here before I start goin’ as crazy as you.”

  The loungewas on the upper floor of a high-rise. It was set up like a loft. The city twinkled outside an enormous window wall, swathed in neon blue light. The music was quieter. It wasn’t as crowded. The atmosphere was far more laid back than where he’d met Evron.

  Delaney examined the pool table, contemplating her next move. The table had a smooth metal surface in lieu of velvet. The balls were replaced by discs glowing blue and orange. They used little paddles instead of cues. It was what would happen if air hockey and billiards made a baby.

  And Sam was terrible at both.

  She took a shot. A blue disc slid into a slot in the corner of the table. She extended her lead. Again.

  “You’re really good at this,” Sam said glumly.

  “Yep! Ain’t much else to do ‘round here. Plus, I got a secret weapon.” She turned to the bar and shook an empty glass. “Quark!” A serving robot emerged from behind the counter and filled her drink. “Mighty kind of ya.”

  “Certainly, citizen.”

  She looked at the table. Eight orange discs remained. One blue disc. “Looks like I’m gonna win this one, too.”

  “Never know. You could miss and I could make eight in a row.”

  “Stranger things,” she hiccupped. The alcohol was getting to her. She leaned down to line up her shot.

  “So what’s the plan?” Sam asked.

  “Plan?”

  “Yeah, you know. With me. What do I do?”

  She sighed. “Well, I suppose you could stick ‘round my place for a while, long as we stay weary of the Sentries.”

  “Really? You’d do that for me?”

  “Sure, why not? I’ve always fancied me a pet and puppies are hard to come by.” She struck the disc. It missed. She looked stunned.

  “Well,” Sam stepped up to the table and smiled, “let’s see about those eight shots in a row.”

  Delaney rolled her eyes. Sipped her drink. Obviously not the most graceful loser.

  He took a shot. The disc slid across the table. Scored. One down, seven to go. Another down. He just kept going, hiding a smirk.

  “Well, lookie here,” came a gruff voice. A group of men approached the table. They looked like slobs. “NB Four Five Ninety, you’re a sight for sore…well…you know.” The alpha male. He was tall with a beer gut and beard. Greasy hair peeked out from beneath his cap. How did he get past the genetic screens?

  Delaney smiled and walked over. They got close. Started talking. She seemed to have forgotten about the game. Old friends? Old…lovers?

  Sam looked on, hunched over the table like an idiot.

  She was laughing. So were the brute’s comrades. He rubbed her shoulder and she didn’t recoil.

  Sam felt angry. Jealous. He
took his shot. Hard. It missed, smacking the edge of the table with an audible clink.

  “You gonna get over there or you just gonna stand here like a pansy waiting for life to smack you in the ass?” It was Evron. He’d come out of nowhere. He was holding a drink, leaning back against the bar.

  “She’s talking to her friend,” Sam said.

  “Aren’t you her friend?”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Look at that.”

  The ogre had his arm around her waist. His hairy palm was heading south.

  “Damn shame,” Evron said. “Pretty thing like that is gonna go home with King Kong because the good guy’s too afraid to go make sure she doesn’t.” He sipped his drink, then let out a long, exaggerated sigh.

  “I just…Fine, watch this.”

  “Sure.” He snickered and turned to the Serving Bot. “Quark, grab me some popcorn. We’re about to see a show.”

  “I do not believe that we serve—”

  “It was just a figure of speech, bolt brain!”

  “Oh. Certainly, citizen.”

  Sam approached the group. His first steps were large and powerful. His next were average. His latest were weak and hesitant. His heart raced. Sweat rolled down his forehead. He eventually stopped walking altogether when he saw the sasquatch peck Delaney on the neck and snap his fingers at another Serving Bot, ordering her a drink. Sam turned around, headed back toward Evron…who clapped, shaking his head. “See what I told you?”

  “What’s that?” Sam gripped the edge of the bar. His fingers turned white as he squeezed.

  “That’s what happens when you don’t free the beast now and then.” He tipped his drink to the pack of hyenas drooling over Delaney. “The scavengers come in.” He noticed Sam’s face was red. Flushed. “You angry?”

  A pause. He gritted his teeth. “Yes.”

  “Then use it. Use that anger. Anger gives us the strength to overcome many obstacles. Well,” he considered something, “all except one.”

  Sam balled his fists. Looked at Evron. “And what would that one thing be?”

  “The one thing that makes our reach exceed our grasp. The thing that threatens to take away every little thing you’ve ever wanted. And lock us up in some cubicle. Hell, you’re going through it right now.”

  “What is it?”

  “It’s simple, really. It’s just—”

  There was a roar. The thunderous bellow of some behemoth that boomed in the distance. The world stopped. All eyes turned to the window wall. A shape started to coalesce far off in the sky.

  “What was that?”

  It happened again. It was louder this time. Monstrous. The cry of an aerial leviathan. People moved closer to the window for a better look. It wouldn’t be long before they learned that was a big mistake.

  “That…” Evron started. “Is one mother—”

  The creature let out another roar so powerful that it shook the floor. Patrons started to panic and flee. Sam was mesmerized by the enormity of the animal. He couldn’t keep his eyes off it.

  “It’s…” It was one of his favorite creatures when he was a kid. He dressed up as one for Halloween one year and wrote stories about them in high school. And now, here he was, staring one down in the flesh. The long neck, gray pebbly skin, massive wings each as tall as a house and claws like black scythes. And the weirdest part: he had seen it before. On the subway, staring in at him, the day he was rejected by the literary agent. “A dragon…” he whispered.

  “Samuel Pierce!” Delaney shouted. The thug and his group had already backed off, staring down the animal in disbelief as it flew closer. “We have to get out of—”

  The mighty crack of lightning. The harrowing bawl of the dragon. It drowned out everything else. Before he could react, the beast smashed through the window, sending chunks soaring in all directions. People ran for cover and screamed, tripping over one another on their way to the exits. But it only seemed interested in one person. One frozen soul.

  The monster knocked Sam to the ground, raining glass. It stepped over him, putting a colossal reptilian paw on each side of his body. Trapped. A Sentry Bot came over and started smacking it with its tendrils, but the dinosaur took it out in one bite. Metal crunched in its jaws as the bot’s red light went out, then it spit the helpless mechanical soul out the shattered window, sending it plummeting to the street below.

  The dragon turned its attention back to Sam. It lowered its head. Its breath was hot on his face. He was terrified. He could see hunks of rotting flesh intertwined amongst its teeth. Its eyes glowed with the fiery red of a demon sent straight from Hell. He braced for the worst. He nearly accepted it. When…

  “Hey!” An empty drink glass whacked its nose. It looked up, annoyed.

  Delaney.

  “Leave him alone! He ain’t even got no meat on him!”

  The dragon obliged. It approached her, ignoring Sam. She backed off, shaking. She looked as if she immediately regretted her decision. She backed up against a wall. The creature advanced on all fours, shoulders down, a lioness stalking its prey. She was pinned.

  “Do something, man!” Evron shouted from behind the bar.

  “Like what?!”

  “Anything!”

  Sam panicked. All he could do was watch.

  The dragon’s forked tongue slithered from between its lips. It ran up and down Delaney’s body, covering her in sticky mucus. It retracted. Opened its mouth. Prepared for the kill.

  “Overcome it, goddammit!”

  Sam put his fear aside and let his body take over. No thoughts. Thinking slowed you down. He picked up a shard of glass from the obliterated window and ran toward the animal, bloodlust in his eyes. He dodged the violent swipe of its muscular tail and buried the crystal blade into its side. It let out a screech of pain. So he stabbed it again. Blood poured from its wounds. Another strike.

  The beast staggered toward the open window. Its titanic footsteps crushed the remaining pool tables and another unfortunate Serving Bot that had made a mad dash to freedom. Then, it stumbled out the window, drunk with pain, flapping its powerful wings, before vanishing into the storm clouds, its wails of agony fading into nothingness, until all that remained was the sound of the pouring rain.

  The people who hadn’t escaped emerged from their hiding places. Delaney trotted over and gave Sam a strong hug. Evron clapped. “See! That’s all you gotta do, man! A little bit of confidence goes a long way!”

  “And a very convenient knife-shaped piece of glass.” Sam tossed the bloody transparent blade out the window. He was shaken. His voice quaked.

  Delaney grabbed the sides of his jacket. “Thank you!” She pecked him on the cheek. Stood back. Looked in his eyes. Hers were covered by the blue contacts.

  “I think they’re prettier when they’re real,” he said.

  “I…” She stuttered. Her face reddened. Blushing. Her hands trembled on his jacket. They leaned in…

  “Attention, citizens!” A cavalcade of Sentry Bots zipped up into the demolished bar. “Remain motionless! We are here to assist you!”

  “Wonderful…”

  “Samuel Pierce.” Delaney’s voice was quiet. Serious. She stared into his eyes. Pulled him close. Whispered. “I think we should go back to the apartment.”

  “Halt, citizen!” A Sentry Bot approached her. “We are recording statistics.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Fine, whatever. Would you make it quick, though?” She gave Sam a seductive wink. “I’m gonna be busy for a while.” The bot scanned the ring in her shirt. There was a ding. It moved over to Sam. Delaney motioned to show it his ring.

  “Oh, yeah, here.” He opened his jacket. The bot scanned the ring.

  There was no ding.

  Thunder rumbled. Sam’s heart walloped his rib cage.

  Ding.

  “Thank you, citizen.” It whizzed away.

  Phew. He let out a sigh of relief. Delaney took his hand. “So, you’s ‘bout ready to get outta here?”
r />   “Yeah, definit—”

  “Halt, citizen.” The Sentry hovered back in fury. “You are not [Mr. MP091290]. That unit reported identity theft for unauthorized purchase of [Protein Product] earlier this morning. You are in violation of Paradiso code [JH31569], impersonation of a Paradiso citizen.”

  An alarm sounded. The group of Sentries descended on Sam like a flock of vultures. He felt their cold, metal tentacles wrap around his body. The more he tried to fight them off, the tighter they held on.

  “You will be taken to WTSN830 for immediate processing!”

  “Who?”

  Delaney reached into the bundle of metal coils and grabbed his hand, shouting over the sounds of the alarms, “The Overseer!”

  Uh oh.

  “Samuel Pierce!”

  It was no use. The group of bots tore him from Delaney’s grasp. He felt rain on his face. A cold breeze. His body felt weightless. When he looked down, he could see the crowded streets of Paradiso speeding by far below. He took one last look at Delaney, who stood at the edge of the shattered window, tears in her eyes. Evron stood next to her, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

  “Where are you taking me?!” He could barely hear his own voice over the whir of the bots’ engines.

  “WTSN830. He who is all. All who is he. Where you will be processed for intrusion.”

  Ahead, Paradiso’s central tower grew nearer. The pyramidal atrium at its apex was a daunting sight, highlighted by the red beacon flashing at its tip. Below the glass, he saw but a flat white floor.

  And in the center was a pool of dried blood.

  14

  The Overseer

  They peered in from behind the window. A blonde in her twenties, wrapped in a tattered coat. A curly brunette in her mid-fifties. And a little boy with straight blond hair, no more than six years old. Sam lay in the hospital bed, hooked up to more machines than they could count.

  “Right now he has a crushed rib that’s millimeters away from puncturing his heart. Any non-precise movement could lead to a rupture and…” the doctor tried to explain with gentle words. But harsh reality was always impossible to sugarcoat.