Time to Expire

by Chris Ramos

  Mr. Stratus stepped back from his perch. Something was odd about the girl. She hid herself when Collectors walk by. She was always turning her head, pulling her hair across her face, or lifting her collar over her mouth. Cole had been mixed up with her for long enough. He was asking questions at work. Too many questions. Mr. Stratus knew it was time to report back to his sector’s Praetor.

  Ultimately, Nimbus himself would need to know of this one.

  VISITOR

  Cole fell into his high-backed swivel chair, sinking into the plastique-covered lining, and looked around his corner office. Light streamed in through window slits along two walls, intersecting its rays in the center of the room, creating a crisscross pattern on every surface. Cole connected his fingers, stretched and cradled the back of his head as he spun his chair. As he had everyday, he marveled at his success in the LifeSpan Corporation. This office was in the upper levels of Division Four, responsible for the collection of recyclable products. Here he was, heading the department that started the human race on the track towards renewable living.

  LifeSpan was a globally spanning corporation, and the collection of waste was no longer a human responsibility. However, human oversight was needed. Robotic tracking, computer statistics, and redistribution were organized through teams and divisions of hard-working employees. Cole directed over thirty teams on a daily basis, which usually became very challenging, but he had a knack for keeping track of separate groups, all working towards a common goal.

  Indeed, Cole was in a high position for someone his age. He had had great success with LifeSpan, and no regrets.

  Outside of work, he led a pretty boring life, until Emma came along. She had changed him and given him purpose, it was true, but she was a distraction, too. She was always in the back of his mind.

  Cole looked around his room at the gleaming plasteel walls without seams as if the the room were built in one quick oozing metal coating.

  Cole watched the last few assignments fade from his screen, and his digiscreen powered down.

  Finally, Cole thought, and smiled ear to ear. He kicked out of his seat and stepped out of his office and briskly passed the other employees at their desks. In the past, Cole never rushed. However, today he had plans with a crazy girl who had been showing him the world, although the last time Cole asked her about her family, Emma did not have the warmest reaction. She changed the subject almost instantly.

  Still, she would be waiting outside, like she always did.

  When Cole exited the front foyer, Emma was sitting under the ash tree across the street. Her hood pulled low, she appeared to be sleeping, but he knew she was watching everyone pass by, studying them.

  I don’t know why she does that. She’s always making it seem like she’s not interested in what other people are doing, but then it turns out that’s all she’s interested in. Cole shook his head.

  Emma looked up from her spot even before Cole had a chance to call out to her. She never ceases to amaze me. He jogged across the street and over to Emma’s tree.

  She had pushed her hood back, letting her hair fall down to her shoulders.

  “Hello. Have you seen a crazy girl in need of some exceptional company?” Cole joked.

  Emma smirked. “Birds of a feather flock together.” She hopped to her feet and swung her satchel over her shoulder. Without another word, she spun and set off at a quick pace, confident Cole would keep up with her.

  She thinks I’m her puppy. Well, maybe I am. With that, Cole scrambled to fall in line with Emma, who was already ten steps ahead of him. Finally, when he caught up to her, he only had one question in his mind. It had been tugging at him all day, distracting him, to say the least. Well, one of his distractions today.

  “Where is your home? Can I see where you live?” There. It was out. Let the backlash begin.

  “Why do you keep asking that? Is it that important for you to witness my past instead of focusing on our future?” She stopped walking so quickly, turned and smiled at Cole. She was messing with him, wasn’t she? He forgot his next question, so dumbfounded by her flirting.

  “I guess that’s the truth of it. Everyone comes from somewhere,” Cole began. “You know so much about me, even a few things I have never told anyone before. Will you stop for a minute?”

  Emma did stop, and she turned to Cole.

  “It’s just, if we are really serious about each other, then we have to be honest too,” Cole stated. “I don’t even know where you work. You are just here, and that’s usually enough for me, so everything else can just fade away. My old questions just get overlapped by new questions and you are always introducing these weird little things about how we look at the—”

  “Cole. You are rambling again,” Emma interrupted. She took his hand up in hers. “Just be patient.”

  They continued walking side by side at a slower pace, saying very little, until Emma steered him off the main road. She was heading to an area of the city with primarily single residences, houses of smaller stature. Cole never had reason to venture this route before. The neighborhood was built for those of the population who had no care to greet each other at the corner parks or coffee shops. This was a place for those who kept to themselves.

  In other words, perfect for Emma.

  “Well, then, would you care to enlighten me on exactly where we are going?”

  “We are going to my home, of course,” Emma shot back. “I was always planning on bringing you here today.”

  “Why did you just give me a hard time about it, if that’s where we were headed anyway?” Cole threw his hands up in frustration.

  “Oh, Cole, quit whining. I can assure you, when I want to give you a hard time, you’ll know it. Now, here we are.”

  Her home was quaint. Surprisingly well kept, with blooming flowers of every color and a path leading around the house, complete with a natural archway covered in ivy. The house was very different from anything Cole would have expected from Emma.

  “So. This is it. It’s so . . . very . . . welcoming. Not what I expected from you,” Cole said.

  “You always have such a way with words,” Emma replied. “This is my home now. My friends are here, and that’s good enough for me.”

  The door swished open. Emma jumped up the steps and entered. Cole was right behind her. The inside was just as warm throughout. Cole was about to take a seat when he noticed they were not alone.

  “Cole, these are my friends.” Emma began the introductions. “A great scientific mind, Sci Tym, and a great philosophic mind, Professor Lander.”

  “Nice to meet you, Cole.” Sci Tym was the first to hobble over and pull Cole further into the room.

  “We have heard so much about you from Emma,” the professor revealed.

  Emma smiled, and Cole relaxed and sat down next to Tym. The two of them immediately struck up a conversation about digiscreen tech models like old friends.

  I knew they would get along, Professor Lander thought. He set some breads and sliced meats, iced desserts and whole fruits onto the table. He also passed around shallow cups and a bottle of juice for everyone to share. He then joined up with Emma across the room.

  Cole was sitting with his back to the entry, and turned to look over his shoulder after Tym’s eyes narrowed slightly.

  Standing in the doorway was a tall, well-built woman in a green jacket, various buckles and clasps running the length of her coat. She had short, cropped hair, buzzed so closely to her head that you could see pale pink skin through her light blond fuzz.

  She was an equal mixture of beauty and toughness, with eyes like a hawk, darting around the room, observing and calculating. Finally, she settled on Cole, and she craned her neck. He knew she was an authority here.

  “My greatest wish tonight was to be graced by your company, dearest Gretchen. Come and greet our visitor,” the professor suggested.

  “Hey, Cole, that must be you!” Tym commented, bringing Cole’s head swinging to face him, breaking his gaze away from Gre
tchen. He started to rise. “Don’t stand yet, it’ll look too rushed. Besides, she’ll want to control the situation. She always does,” Tym warned.

  Cole sat back down, whispering to Tym. “I thought you were all friends,” Cole shot back.

  “We are all friends, sorta. You just have to watch that one. There’s something eerie about a person who never smiles.” To further prove his point, Tym smiled as big as he could, squishing his food into his mouth, and his drink dribbled down his chin.

  Cole couldn’t stop himself from laughing full out, an honest heartfelt laugh. Tym wiped his mouth with his sleeve, only smearing the food around to his cheek.

  “Yeah, laugh it up. You have food on your face too.” Tym pointed at Cole’s cheek.

  Cole reached up and wiped icing from his mouth onto his hand, and leaned forward to grab a napkin just as he was greeted.

  “I trust you are enjoying some revelry with our dear Tym?” an icy voice asked.

  He stood quickly and had no choice but to wipe his hands on the front of his jacket and attempt to stand straight enough to make an impression. When he turned to look at Gretchen, he was even more impressed than before.

  She had removed her jacket and wore three necklaces of alternating precious stones and fine chain earrings dangling down from each lobe.

  Her lips were wide, plump and creased into a continual frown. If Cole hadn’t just heard her talk, he would assume she hadn’t opened her mouth in years. Still waiting for his reply, she gently raised an eyebrow.

  “Yes, Tym had some food on his face. Well, in his mouth, running down his mouth. We were talking too . . . Conversations . . . ,” Cole stammered, and knew he sounded like a fool.

  “I assume his conversation was as interesting as his lack of table manners.”

  “Gretchen, no need to start so early picking on Tym,” the professor interjected.

  She sneered at Sci Tym and leaned against the wall.

  “See, Cole? One big happy family, just like you wanted,” Emma laughed.

  “Tell me, Cole,” the professor began. “You work in LifeSpan Division Four, is that correct?” Cole nodded in agreement. “What groundbreaking projects are you working on to better the lives of your fellow man?”

  “Well, I plan renewable resources. Our last meeting was about the ocean floor, by the lower Eastern Continent, and how LifeSpan is working to develop the deepest part of the ocean,” Cole continued on, completely unaware of losing his audience. “It would turn the ocean into a furnace capable of heating long tubes that would be brought to the surface as a regulatory inst—”

  “Cole, I think what we are asking is for any local projects.” Emma finally stepped in, before Cole made a fool of himself. “Hasn’t LifeSpan ever given you an update on how this city is doing?” Emma directed.

  “Well, hmmm . . . ,” Cole thought long about his response. “No, I suppose they haven’t mentioned any local improvements, just what good they are doing—”

  “Halfway around the world,” Gretchen finished.

  “Doesn’t it strike you odd? The only information we ever hear is how great everyone else is doing? Are these updates coming from Mr. Stratus?” the professor interjected.

  “No, he works in a different sector now.”

  “But he was the one who promoted you,” Emma said.

  “Yes, that’s right.” Cole realized he was the only one sitting down. “I don’t understand where this conversation is going. There’s nothing wrong with this town, there’s nothing wrong with my job. I’m happy, really I am.” Cole looked at Gretchen again. She gave him the creeps.

  “Of course. Please relax. We just didn’t want you to lose our reasoning.” The professor patted his hands in the air and sat down. The others followed his lead.

  “So, what is the point?” He was looking at Gretchen when he said it.

  “The point, my dear boy, is you will never see the bottom of the ocean. You will most likely never visit the lower Eastern Continent. However, you take comfort in knowing these far off lands are doing so well. You also are comforted that the reason for their success is LifeSpan, and coincidentally, you work for LifeSpan. How wonderful you are doing your part, however small that is in these many global achievements.” Gretchen spit every word in response to his glare.

  Cole stood and looked around the room.

  “Thank you all. It was nice meeting you. Emma, I have to go now.”

  “Cole, we are just playing around. Stay a little longer,” Emma pleaded.

  “I would like to, but it’s getting late. Thanks again. We should do this more often,” Cole lied, and he exited through the front door.

  When Cole was a safe distance, Emma erupted at Gretchen. “You didn’t have to lean into him so hard! He’s a good man. Yeah, he works at LifeSpan, but that’s not his fault. He has never—”

  “You care for him,” Gretchen determined.

  Emma stopped.

  “If he can help us build the case against LifeSpan, you can continue to see him,” the professor said. “Is your mission still attainable?”

  “Yes, Father, it is,” Emma confirmed.

  “Try to keep lover boy on track,” Gretchen threw in. “Stick to the plan.”

  THE ASSOCIATE

  The warm summer air was humming as the weather towers filtered and expelled gases into the atmosphere. The towers were everywhere, and Emma was talking about the possibility of the towers taking on so many different duties. How could one tower control the weather, filter gasses, run reports, and make the rain? Cole let her run from one topic to the next, nodding and throwing in what he could, usually pushing her into another stream of criticism. How could she think about so much? Why not just let it be? Who really cares about the humming of the towers? They have their purpose.

  To be honest, Cole was just glad to be out with Emma, alone. Anywhere but at her house. He had returned a few times after the first visit fiasco. They discussed LifeSpan history, expirations they have witnessed, even Mr. Stratus. Cole was building a strong relationship with the professor and Sci Tym, not as much with Gretchen. Emma had been with them for years now. The night usually ended as Emma intensely disagreed with Gretchen and Tym unveiled a new invention or two.

  There was far less excitement when Cole brought Emma to his home. Aunt Hester had immediately bonded with Emma, and they talked for hours, jumping from one topic to the next while laughing and pointing at Cole. He was just happy to see Emma enjoying herself.

  Today, it was just the two of them sitting in the Howland Park fields for over two hours now. It seemed the whole city was outside today, enjoying the perfect weather.

  “Hey, I’m exhausted. Wake me when it’s your birthday,” Cole teased.

  “Funny. I’ll wake you when you have to go back to work. How about that?”

  “Nah, I don’t need to go back to work.”

  “You don’t need to, or you don’t want to?” Emma challenged.

  “Is there a difference?”

  Emma thought about it. “Well, I guess not. Night night, Cole.” She smiled in an almost motherly way.

  Cole thought about curling over and laying his head on Emma’s thigh. He could justify the move for a thinly veiled excuse of comfort. Instead, he took his jacket off, bunched it up and stuffed it under his head as a makeshift pillow. He had no trouble taking a quick nap as the trees swayed in the breeze, the birds keeping a long-strung melody. Emma unexpectedly ran her hand through his hair.

  “Don’t answer that!” Mary shrieked.

  The door chimed.

  “Cole, don’t open the door! I’m your mother; you need to listen to me!”

  The door chimed.

  The door chimed again and again, more and more loudly.

  “Cole, why don’t you listen to me? Why would you do this to us?”

  Chime.

  Cole looked down and he was covered in blood. He knew it was his mother’s.

  He didn’t want to open the door, but he did, and they were waitin
g.

  Cole jumped awake, sucking in breath and groping for something to grab onto, inadvertently pulling out a few blades of grass in his fists. He hadn’t had a dream like that in a long time. That one was strong. Emma was staring back at him, her legs pulled up, a small notebook resting on her thighs.

  “Rough sleep?” Emma sounded like she could sympathize.

  “Yeah. Wait, what are you doing?” Cole asked.

  “Observing you while you sleep,” Emma answered. “What else should I be doing?”

  “Not that. Wait, you are observing me? I’ll get back to that.” Cole sat up and crawled closer to her, aware she had moved a few feet away from him. Wasn’t she rubbing his head just a moment ago?

  “You are writing?” Cole was very confused. She was writing on pages with a pen. Actually writing. “But, nobody does that!” he said incredulously.

  “Why don’t you come over here? I’ll show you how,” Emma offered.

  “How time consuming! Wouldn’t you want a digiscreen? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you with one,” Cole responded.

  “True. I leave it at home. Besides, I don’t want anyone to know what I’m writing.” Emma winked.

  “If you typed it into the digiscreen, it’s yours. Who would read your entries without your permission?”

  “Oh, Cole, you are so naïve. Digiscreens are connected; they are part of the grid. There’s always someone punched in to your signal. They always have a way.” Emma seemed paranoid.

  Cole sat back. The park had emptied during his dozing.

  “I just thought everyone learned how to read and type. I didn’t know there was anyone who even wanted to use a pen.”

  “Well, then, why don’t we start from the very beginning? Come closer, and I’ll show you how to use a pen.” She raised her voice into a patronizing pitch. Emma was provoking him now.