Lenders

by Johnson, John

  Lia sped over and did a long power skid ending up at her side. “Looks like you’re ready.”

  “Ready for what?” Amy asked, then remembered, and glanced at the black bag which wasn’t far from the rail they occupied. Before Lia had a chance to reply she said, “Oh right, work.”

  “Yep, but I actually thought you might want to get a bite first,” Lia said. “I’m starved.”

  “You read my mind,” Amy said. She wondered why Lia kept procrastinating about work, but figured, she’s a pro, and who am I to argue at the chance for lunch. There’s plenty of time.

  “Follow me!” Lia bolted toward the beach. At the far end of the skate park was a ramp. She sped toward it, pushing with her strong leg muscles, faster, and faster, then dipped into its deep trough and shot up the ramp launching into the air. She must’ve flown over fifty yards then landed skates-first in the sand. The touchdown wasn’t a hard crash; she slid like a baseball player scorching home, digging a professional groove deep into the glistening white.

  “Cool, I can do that!” Amy said. She tensed up and took off, and did it, marvelously, almost the same, but landed a good twenty feet before Lia’s mark and had to trudge her way through the thick sand.

  “One day you might beat my record. Not!” Lia laughed.

  Amy laughed it off with a bit of jest and insinuatingly replied, “We’ll see about that.”

  They headed to the quaint little eating joint barefooted and tossed their skates alongside the driftwood shack where a few others had been thrown. It was almost incongruous, as the entire world was so pristine, yet here it was: a little rundown looking thing labeled Jupiter Jack’s Burger Shack. The sign was colorful but flickered. Underneath it read “Little Moon, Colossal Burgers!”

  Huh, that settles it. It really is a moon. I’m really on a freakin’ moon.

  Behind the counter was a hefty big-bellied chef. He was at least seven-foot tall and stood flipping burgers with one hand, dropping a basket of fries in hot grease with the other. Yep, that must be Jupiter Jack, and so his name tag read. Following the theme he was supported by a large round woman tagged Meteor Martha, and a lean and likewise tall son, Royd Rocket. In silvery-white futuristic and shiny uniforms the three worked like cogs: flipping burgers, tossing ingredients, and filling sodas; a real show in itself. Gobs of sauce splattered onto Jack’s uniform as he adroitly, but nonchalantly, assembled burgers; without staining it slid down his seemingly magical sheen. Their hats were of the wedge type and a red and yellow striped rocket ship—matching the sign—lined its ridge.

  It was near lunch time on the moon and people from the skate park and beach began to migrate over in drones. Billowing from the shacks roof, the smoking grill teamed up with the exhaust fan, working like an alarm clock, pumping the alluring smell of greasy smoke into the otherwise pristine atmosphere.

  “Bet it’s been a looong time since you’ve had a reeeal burger,” Lia said hopping onto a stool. “Jupiter Jack makes ‘em the best!”

  “How goes it Lia?” Jupiter Jack greeted in his jolly ho-ho-ho tone. “And a big welcome to your new friend.”

  “But, this isn’t real,” Amy said. Lia frowned, her shoulders loosened. She was taken away from her escape momentarily. Amy quickly knew why she felt sad. Again this map, I keep losing my focus here, she thought. Everything was so real and wondrous that it twisted reality. This is her chance to live, she reminded herself. She’s able to escape her real body, with imagination, and live again.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s okay Amy. Let’s just enjoy it and our four days. I’ll never ever forget our time together. This is the best part of my life. For me—this is the real world—and the outside is…”

  “I understand,” Amy replied. “Let’s get ourselves a huge burger then, the biggest one we can, ten patties!”

  “Let’s!” Lia rejoiced.

  “So what’ll it be girls,” Meteor Martha said tapping a digital pad.

  The girls ordered two of the biggest most colossal burgers on the menu, aptly named: THE BIG BANG. Lucky they got there early for a line of hungry people had formed. Jupiter Jack was about to have his busiest day—ever. Thanks to Amy.

  One at a time Jupiter Jack impaled the cheesy balancing feat with a musical drumstick then passed to Martha. She masterfully transferred the twelve-inch tall burger to a tray then filled a half-gallon fizzy drink. Royd shoveled a pile of sizzling fries around the steamy and beauteous abhoration and launched tray after tray along the counter. Many onlooking DC’s ooohhhed and aaahhhed as the massive meat and cheese creation jettisoned by.

  Before long the girls were laughing uncontrollably as they tried to overstuff their mouths. They packed their faces turning it into a competition and made a mess all over the counter. Behind them DC’s rallied and cheered. Amy, Amy, Amy! Lia, Lia, Lia! Jupiter Jack and Mama Meteor joined in on the laugh; the burger joint with the greatest atmosphere in the solar system!

  Packed to overload they walked out to the dock carrying their enormous sodas. It was quiet. For the most part DC’s were either lined up at the restaurant or back at the skate park. The dock expanded into a 100-foot diameter eyelet circle with reclining beach chairs lining its edges. They took a load off and marveled at the spectacular view.

  “Ah. I never get sick of this view,” Lia said. “I could sit here forever.”

  “It is beautiful Lia. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful.” The view mesmerized them both.

  They fell asleep. Dreams within dreams, side by side they slept, bellies bulging.

  Hours later the sun was a sliver on the horizon, contrarily Jupiter had partly descended. “Oh no!” Lia panicked. It’s almost time to log out and we haven’t did anything. “Amy, Amy wake up!”

  “What is it? Oh, we fell asleep,” Amy groggily giggled. She sat up and looked at the skate park which was teaming with skaters. Jupiter Jack and family were kicking it in beach chairs, completely exhausted from an insane lunch-hour rush.

  “Let’s go. I’ll show you. We gotta knock ‘em out, and fast,” Lia urged. She got up and plodded through the sand. Amy followed.

  Knock ‘em out? Amy thought.

  At the top Lia frantically laced up her skates and knocked off the sand then turned her head back to before jumping in. “You’re good, the best I’ve seen. Watch me. You can do this.” With that Lia dropped into the skate park’s largest and deepest pool. She built up speed and focused on her target: a young teenage dude flaunting some moves. Upon her second dip into the bowl she had all the speed she needed. She shot up right under the boy as he ascended for his trick, and booted him into outer space.

  Amy followed the screaming boy with her eyes. “So that’s how she does it.” She let out a tiny giggle as the boy disappeared into the black abyss of outer space. Lia did it again, then again, then Amy dropped in.

  Amy matched the speed of a little girl on a scooter; an easy first target. The little girl barely bounced up out of the bowl to do a fa-dizzle of a trick and Amy sped in behind at just the right moment, bumping her into space. It wasn’t long until they had bumped a quarter of the park into space when suddenly an older teenage boy shot up behind Amy and bumped her out when she wasn’t looking. Amy flew off into outer space and the boy laughed and laughed then resumed skating. Amy got smaller and smaller, then disappeared.

  Lia had witnessed the whole thing and screamed, “Oh No. Amy!” And it made her furious. Eyes squinting like a ninja and teeth clenched she let her muscles explode. She easily matched the boys speed. He was still laughing and skating loosely and obliviously. She timed it as a professional would, perfectly, and in no time at all came up under him during the climax of his trick—delivering the surprise of his life: a swift boot to the ass. “Whoa, aaahh!” The screams faded rapidly as he headed into deep space.

  Lia calmed and settled herself and got ready to log out. “Well Ted’s not gonna like this. A whole day’s work, wasted.” Lia knew well the disruption unexpected l
ogouts could cause. Death and trauma likewise destabilized the system, negating the whole day, and very possibly sending the status plunging to red. She tossed her skates and leaned back. Just before closing her eyes… Could it be?

  Amy came flying back; with a blinding smile nonetheless. She caught gravity and dove into the pool skates first. Emerging onto the other side where Lia sat she caught the rail at a close tangent, rail-slid twenty feet around the curved edge of the pool, then somersaulted onto the wooden deck facing Lia.

  “Da-daaah!” Amy declared. “I’m back.”

  Lia gasped in amazement not only at her speed and control but mostly her unique ability to alter the rules of the system. She’d fought gravity, and won! No one has ever done anything like that.

  Amy smiled and sat next to Lia who didn’t know what to think. They relaxed and twelve minutes later the sun rose and they experienced a successful logout.

  Amy awoke in the broadcast room lying across from Lia and turned her head. Lia was back, in her crippled body. They both glanced into each other's groggy eyes and smiled. Lia had new hope and wonder and a very special new friend. Amy had more determination than ever. Status: 100% green.

  35. The Search

  She’d finally finished spending time with everyone from the night shifts and all of the lower-level lenders. Everything was going as exactly as planned. More and more lenders were approaching high-level status, and so, things had become relaxed in the broadcast room.

  Next on the list was Jessie, then George. Amy didn’t particularly like them, but not because she didn’t want to. She really tried, but they put it in her face. Jessie frequently gave her dirty looks when they met eyes. George went as far to tell her that he wished she had never come to their town and his long disdainful stares were hurtful. And they would bump into her—accidentally—one time knocking her down. Amy never told anyone about their attitudes or bullying, she just kept everything to herself. Her bounce-back attitude kept her spirits high, that plus her optimism.

  When we log in together I’ll show them I’m not so bad then I know they’ll like me, she thought. But still, the thought of Monday unsettled her a bit.

  As weeks do, fly by, Monday came soon enough and the lenders appeared to work, except for Amy. George and Jessie were also absent. This was rare indeed. There hadn’t been sickness in the community for a long time; people just didn’t get colds, the flu, even worse cancer or other diseases, not anymore. The last lender absences were Fran and Nanny, and that was over a year ago. They’d made a batch of homemade moonshine from hoarded corn using a custom concocted still. They’d gotten so hungover they missed the entire day. They also got a strike. One more would mean the chair and a comfy retirement shucking corn.

  “Jim, you live right above Amy,” Ted asked, “have you seen her?”

  “I haven’t, she’s always out the door way before me,” he replied. “She likes to take the winding nature path through the park, sometimes around it along the wall near the canal, but still always beats everyone here. Who is she scheduled to work with today?”

  “Jessie, she’s missing too,” replied Ted. “George is also missing. He was scheduled to work with you.”

  A bad thought entered his mind and his muscles weakened. Ted noticed his graven change of countenance.

  “What is it Jim?”

  “I’ve got a bad feeling about this Ted.” Jim said. He’d caught George sending malicious looks her way several times over the past few weeks. He’d seen the both of them tease her a few times and stepped in—and since he’d intervened, delivering his own malicious warning, it’d stopped. And Amy never mentioned anything; he knew how strong she was. He continued to think and a cold shiver traveled up his spine.

  “Excuse me Ted,” Devon interrupted, rushing over. “We need to get some lenders in now. We’re about to drop into the yellow.”

  Ted was deep in thought rubbing his chin. He examined Jim who appeared terribly worried. Jim shrugged his head slowly. “Call someone in Devon.” Ted decided. “I need you and Ron to handle things today. I’m going to step out for a few.”

  “Yes sir. But what about Jim,” Devon contested. “He can send it back to green with just about anyone, in only a half hour.”

  “Jim is coming with me,” Ted replied lacking his usual calm. “Devon I want you and Ron to take care of it. Most of the low-levels that spent time with Amy can handle that now. And delay all logouts for an extra half hour.”

  “Will do sir,” Devon replied. He rushed back to his station and pulled up the list. He looked for who had a day off, for who could possibly log in. Abell was off, but Lia was beginning with her alternate. Alex and Trixie would do.

  Because of the newfound power, Rico’s idea, lenders were given extra time off and things had slacked quite bit. And the schedule was a bit messy with all the shuffling. Now, with two pairs missing, and the currently active lenders no longer producing, things were in a pinch. Nothing serious though—yet.

  “Come on Jim, let’s go see Rico,” Ted said. He and Jim headed to the main control room located on the other side of the facility.

  Arriving they pushed the com button. Inside, Rico responded. Along with two others, Chang, next in rank for non-lending operations, and David, a relatively new recruit, they controlled various systems: power management, internal security and town monitoring, external observations and defense, wall health, and lock down procedures. Much was automated such as wall and outer perimeter security but many systems could operate collectively, allowing for a human assist or advisory.

  “Rico, it’s Jim. I’m here with Ted. We have a problem.”

  Rico slid next to David. A smorgasbord of screens filled the center of the room. David was put in charge of internal monitoring for the facility and town security. He reached down and pressed the button. Ted and Jim appeared on one of the screens. Taken slightly aback by the surprise morning visit Rico asked, “What is it Ted?”

  “Amy’s missing,” Jim exclaimed.

  “Jessie and George are also missing,” Ted added looking to the camera atop the control room door.

  Rico glanced to another screen making sure it was safe to open the door and said, “Come on in guys.” The door opened by sliding to the side slowly. They hustled in and the door sealed. The control room was considerably smaller than the broadcast room, and a bit darker inside, but its technology and screens saturated the space. It also contained a smaller version of the HAT (hologram table) that was used to generate a 3D ultra-high resolution view of the town and surrounding quarantine zone. “So what’s this about?”

  “Rico I don’t know. I just have a bad feeling,” Jim said. “George and Jessie have been giving Amy unpleasant looks since our meeting atop the wall. I had to step in, almost kicked George’s ass, and it stopped since then. I never mentioned anything because I knew once they had a chance to work with her they would finally be able to understand the need for the change we’re all going through—and they’d fall in love with Amy just like everyone else. Uh, something else—since I’ve worked with Amy—”

  “What is it Jim?” Rico asked impatiently. Ted followed curiously.

  “I can feel things,” he said. “Intuition I guess, but stronger, I don’t know. Like I’m connected to her. I—can’t explain it right now. I just—I feel sick. Please, we need to search for her now.”

  There was a pause. Rico understood where Jim was coming from. He remembered long ago, before the cleansing, vaguely, and could identify with the idea; he could sense things he couldn’t quite explain. Gut feelings; they ran deep once upon a time. The depth of humanity, he thought. All looked to Jim. There was a moment of silence. Jim urgently pressed his gaze, and it was enough. He never messed around like this and his face reflected seriousness and earnest desperation. Just as Ted had taken him serious earlier, reacting to the same heartfelt reasoning, Rico did the same. And worry enveloped them all.

  “Alright. Jim, you head into town,” Rico instructed with sudden adamance. “Bef
ore sounding the alarm get a small party together and do a preliminary search. Hopefully, it’s nothing. Check her apartment, check Bertha’s, her normal route to work, and anywhere else that comes to mind. Then head back to town hall and get back to me. Go now.” Procedurally, David checked the camera to make sure the hall was secure then activated the door. Jim ran out and headed into town. Ted stayed. “Ted, if you would help David scour the town cameras and see if you can locate her. It’s a lot to look over but with your help we can knock it out quickly. And if she arrives to work anytime soon we’ll know. Move over David and let him help you. Chang, if you would as well. I’ll contact town hall.”

  Rico got on the landline and alerted the town board with a heads up. There was no transmitting permitted in town so a hard communications line connected the control room with town hall, lender housing, and the hospital. There were also four emergency boxes throughout town, one of them inside Bertha’s restaurant.

  Like clockwork Monday morning had begun with the quotidian board meeting in the old courthouse near the center of town. Its ascending front steps made for a good place to organize and instruct a search party. Rico contacted Rob Price, head of the town panel, informing him that Jim might show up, to be ready, and to take him very serious.

  Jim gathered a few to help, but his preliminary search, sprinting relentlessly, turned up nothing. Within a half hour the entire town was alerted and people were gathering at the base of the courthouse steps. Jim approached the stairs in order to meet with the town board members. He passed Bertha who was among the scuttling citizens and she called to him as he ran by.

  “Jim,” Bertha yelled. “What’s goin’ on? Somethin’ about Amy?” Jim gestured to security and they let her follow him up the steps. Frantically she headed up alongside him. The town panel were gathered and ready to address the citizens of Jewel City.