Ailsa stirred.
“She’ll be fine, mate. I’ll leave her in your more than capable hands,” said the billboard driver. He started his rig back up and continued down the road.
The taxidriver looked at his cab. Other vehicles honked at him. His work console lit up the inside of his vehicle. He looked back at Texa and Ailsa. They weren’t moving.
34
“I’ve got an emergency here, darling,” said the taxidriver. He sat in the front seat of the cab. A nurse appeared on his viewscreen. “Two—”
“Please,” whispered Ailsa from the back seat. “Just get us out of here.”
“What’s your name?” asked the taxidriver.
Ailsa struggled to sit up straight. “Drive, just drive!” she yelled. She looked at the viewscreen in his headrest. “Gabriel,” it said.
Gabriel turned around.
“Gabriel,” she said. She leaned forward and looked him in the eye. “My daughter and I are escaping from this… corporation… this Dr. Xemura.”
“Xemura?” Gabriel asked.
She looked at the headrest viewscreen again. Gabriel’s last name was written in tall, fat letters: XEMURA. Ailsa held her breath.
She grabbed for the door handle and pulled. It would not open. “Let us out!”
She looked through the rear window. The black-suited soldiers ran towards the small cab.
Gabriel turned around. “I’m going to help you—”
Ailsa narrowed her eyes at him. “Who are you?”
“Don’t worry about that yet, darling,” said Gabriel. He punched the accelerator and they flew up into the air.
35
Gabriel descended against an approaching bank of storm clouds and parked the car high in the alley between two darkened red brick factories.
Ailsa reclined in the back seat. She hugged Texa tight to her. “Why are we stopping?” she asked. It was dark outside. All she saw were broken windows. The darkness inside the old factories made her shiver.
Gabriel twisted his giant frame in the driver’s seat to look Ailsa in the face. He smiled without showing any teeth. “I need to know everything.”
“Why? What do you want from us?” Ailsa studied his face. It was strong and tired.
“Tell him, Mom,” said Texa. “I think we can trust him.”
“Quiet,” she said to Texa. “What are you to him?”
Gabriel sighed. “He’s my brother.”
36
“Why is that guy’s brother driving a cab?” Ailsa asked.
The three of them lounged in Gabriel’s living room. The couch was too shallow, the seat cushions bowed and peppered with dark spots but it was comfortable and cool. Their backs were to the front door.
Texa bounced in her seat. She looked at the ceiling and back down. “Can I watch your viewscreen?” she asked.
“Sure,” said Gabriel. “Viewscreen on,” he said. “Go ahead and tell it what you want, darling.”
Across from the couch, giant moving images appeared in crystal clarity.
Gabriel got up, turned right and walked to the kitchen. He pulled out some bread, mayonnaise and sliced meat. He carried them over and set them on the coffee table in front of the couch. “Help yourselves.”
Ailsa glared at him. “So, your brother…”
“Oh, right,” said Gabriel. He sat back down. “Well, when we were kids, he was the Hawking. Brilliant in science, aced all the tests, teacher’s pet. The whole thing.”
“Mom,” said Texa, “the audio subscription still works! I can hear the sound great. Thanks, Mom. I love you.” She smiled and kept bouncing with her eyes glued to the viewscreen.
Ailsa smiled at her. She raised her eyebrows at Gabriel.
“He won a science competition. He was adopted by Monsanto. And they educated him.” He sighed. “But I haven’t seen him since. I see his ads and all that. But not him.”
Ailsa fixed herself a sandwich. “I am so hungry,” she whispered.
“So, he kidnapped you and your girl?” Gabriel asked.
“Not exactly. We… died,” she whispered.
Gabriel frowned at her. “He killed you…?”
“We went to this… place.” She waved a hand in front of her face and turned away from him. “Anyway, it doesn’t matter. We died. We were dead.”
Gabriel nodded and waited for her to finish. “I’m glad you’re still with us, darling. You have a beautiful little girl. You are a beautiful young lady.”
Ailsa blushed. He thinks I’m cute. She arched her head to one side and twirled an index finger in her hair. She thought about what she must look, and smell, like after the ordeal. She stopped and looked away, ashamed.
Gabriel smiled back. “Where’s her dad?” he said in a low voice.
“He was killed,” Ailsa said. “He was out getting us food and some punk killed him for five coins.” She finished her sandwich and sat back. “That is much better. I don’t even remember the last time I ate.”
“You don’t have papers do you?” he asked.
She shook her head tightly from side to side. “Our protectorate was in uplift, anyway. And the shop probably registered us as dead.”
Gabriel lowered his eyelids and frowned. “You missed uplift? I wonder if you can still—”
Ailsa glared at him. “Have you been uplifted?”
Gabriel shook his head. “So, my brother brought you back to life? Is that what you’re telling me, darling?”
Ailsa shrugged. “I was dead. I don’t know. But he told us we were his property now, that our Republic rights were ‘extinguished at death.’”
“He always was a greedy bastard,” said Gabriel with a smirk, “But unquestionably brilliant. So, do you still want to die?”
Ailsa shot a glance at Texa. She brought a finger to her mouth and shook her head. She stood up. “Aren’t you married or something?”
“All the women today want life easy. They won’t fight for anything,” he said.
Ailsa crossed her arms. “Oh, and what do you fight for?”
Gabriel laughed. “Ask me later.” He patted the couch next to him.
“You must need some clothes washed or some food made or something?” Ailsa asked. She sat down and looked up at him with pleading eyes. “I can be a good housekeeper, at least until we find somewhere to go, and Texa won’t be any—”
Texa stood up and walked away from the couch without taking her eyes off the screen. “Sh!” she whispered.
He put his arm up on the back of the couch. His fingers lay near her shoulder. “Relax,” he said with a broad smile. “You guys need a few days of—”
The door burst open behind them. Gabriel and Ailsa were thrown through the coffee table and into the ground. The couch landed on top of them.
The darkly-clad soldiers entered the house. They scanned in all directions with their heads pegged tight to their rifles.
“This is a Republic safety inspection,” yelled an artificially amplified voice. “Lay down on the—”
Texa whipped around. “Quiet! I’m watching my show!” A dark look crossed her face. She gritted her teeth and her head jerked to one side.
There was a sound of bones popping, like a thousand fingers cracking at the same time. The soldiers’ writhing bodies collapsed with a gurgling sound.
Texa’s head moved back to a normal position, her eyes rolled back and she fell to the floor.
37
Ailsa drew in a ragged breath through her mouth and choked on the thick dust. She coughed but lacked enough air to expel it. She struggled between breath and cough.
Gabriel stirred next to her. He got onto his hands and knees and pushed the sofa. It rolled off of him and landed on Ailsa’s calves before standing upright again.
“Ow!” whispered Ailsa. She sat back on the floor against the edge of the couch and cleared her lungs. “Why is it so dark?”
Gabriel kicked something and it crashed to the floor. “What the hell…?”
A switch clicked and
the room was flooded with light. “What happened?” Ailsa asked.
“Oh bloody hell!” yelled Gabriel. He ran backwards and fell onto an end table. It broke under his weight.
Ailsa stood up and screamed. “Are they dead? Texa? Texa! Where—”
Ailsa ran to Texa. “Wake up,” she said. “Texa. Please.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “Gabriel…”
Gabriel climbed over the bodies of the soldiers and opened the door. His jaw dropped and he took a step back.
“What is it?” Ailsa ran to him. She looked outside and screamed.
Dead soldiers, collapsed like formless water bladders, littered the front yard and the street. Sirens sounded in the distance.
38
“We have to get out of here, darling,” said Gabriel. “Is Texa okay?”
“She’s breathing, but I can’t wake her,” said Ailsa.
“Grab her. Grab some food. I’ll get the car ready,” he said.
He grabbed a small toolbox from under the kitchen counter and ran outside. He opened the hood on his tiny black cab and ripped a small yellow box out with a pair of pliers.
Ailsa watched him for a moment. So big, so strong and he knows how to work with his hands. Her spine tingled. He’ll get us out.
Gabriel put the hood down gently and returned inside, stepping carefully over the black bags of broken bones. He held up the yellow box. “They won’t be able to track us now. Hurry up.”
What about those injections? Maybe those are tracking chips? She limped to the kitchen. She grabbed bread, lunchmeat, cheese, mayonnaise and a banana from the fridge. She put them in a plastic bag and then stared into space.
“Let’s go,” Gabriel said. He turned to look at her. “What is it?”
“They injected us with something. Do you think it could be a tracking chip?”
“Goddamnit,” said Gabriel. He massaged his forehead.
The sirens got louder and there were more of them.
Gabriel ran and grabbed Texa in his arms. “It doesn’t matter. We have to go.” He grabbed Ailsa’s arm and pulled her.
Ailsa hopped into the front passenger seat. Gabriel eased Texa into the backseat. He squeezed his massive frame into the driver’s seat.
“You have to get into the back,” he said. “Cabbies aren’t allowed to have passengers up front.”
Ailsa gritted her teeth but she moved to the backseat. Gabriel gunned it and the car flew off into the murky evening sky.
Ailsa glanced out the back window just as the white-suited Gards arrived.
39
“I don’t know where I’m going,” said Gabriel. They rocketed through the evening sky outside of the airway lanes. He turned to Ailsa. “What do we do?”
“You should drop us off somewhere,” she said. “You’re a good man. There’s no reason for us to drag you down.” She put her hand on his upper arm and squeezed.
He contracted the muscle and shot a tense smile at her.
She looked away from him, put her hand in her hair and breathed in through her mouth. Wow he is handsome! The current was back, and it was stronger.
“There are at least thirty Gards down there, inside and around my house. I’m screwed. I can never go back there. Even if they don’t euthanize me, that’s a lot of correction.”
Ailsa closed her eyes. “I’m sorry, so— Wait. What happened to those guys? What did you do?”
“I didn’t do anything, darling” said Gabriel. “They were like that when I woke up.”
Ailsa turned to Texa. She sat back and thought. Do I tell him? But what if he wants to hurt her? I need his help. “It was Texa.”
“What?” asked Gabriel.
“Her father could make you feel what he was feeling. I’ve suspected she had it, too.”
“That’s an interesting theory, darling, but where do we go? We’re just hurtling through space and time right now. They’ll catch—”
“Go to XLS1, where you found us,” she said.
He turned around with one eyebrow raised. “Are you—?”
“Just do it. Trust me.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. Their eyes met and she softened her face.
40
“Can you hover about a block away from the front door?” Ailsa asked.
“This is a bad idea,” Gabriel said.
“Mommy?” Texa sat up and opened her eyes.
“Hey, baby girl.” Ailsa turned and put her arm under Texa’s head. “You were out for awhile. You okay?”
Texa squinted. Her voice was rough. “I’m really hungry. And thirsty, too.”
“I’ll get you something in just a minute, okay? Just hold on.”
Gabriel hovered the car across the street from the main entrance to XLS1. “We’re right out in the open here, you know. I’d like to understand what you’re thinking.”
“Mom, hungry,” said Texa.
“I’m kind of hungry, too,” said Gabriel.
“It’s her… influence,” said Ailsa. “I feel it, too. We have to be care—”
“Mom!” Texa yelled.
“Just hold on, baby girl. Look,” she said to Gabriel, “there was a woman with us.”
“Small blond in the white coat and glasses?” asked Gabriel.
“Zora’s her name. She’s a doctor. She works for your brother. She can get the chips out.”
“Do we know where she lives, darling?” Gabriel asked.
Ailsa rolled her eyes. “How would I know that?”
“Why do you think she’s still here? She could—”
“It’s a feeling. I sometimes get feelings and they turn out right. Sometimes, it’s Texa and she’s sending me the feeling without even knowing.”
Gabriel laughed. “So, we’re sitting outside of the place where you guys face the greatest danger, where they could grab you and whisk you off back to a white room forever on the slight feeling that maybe some woman who didn’t want to help you before might be here and might be willing to help you now. Did I get that right, little darling?”
Ailsa looked away from him and screwed up her face. I hate it when men mock me.
41
“Mom! Food, now!” Texa yelled.
Ailsa’s face got hot. Her pulse accelerated and her stomach felt empty. Her head began to spin. “Put us down,” she whispered. “I’ll get her something to eat.”
“And leave me here by myself? What good is that? I won’t recognize this woman! And if they’re tracking us, they’ll be here any minute!” Gabriel slammed his fist against the steering wheel. “I don’t even know why—”
“Why you’re with us? I don’t know either!” yelled Ailsa. “Just set us down, Mr. Xemura. We’ll take it from here.”
“Mom,” Texa groaned. “Mom. Please.”
Ailsa’s chest tightened. We’re never going to be free of this. We’ll never get out of here. They have people everywhere. Zora isn’t here anymore.
Gabriel leaned forward. “Wait. Is that her?” He pointed towards a lone figure exiting XLS1.
“Oh, who cares—” started Ailsa.
“Mommy!”
Ailsa wanted to be angry but the desperation overtook her and she could only sit still with her mouth open. All hope and motivation drained from her.
Gabriel sighed. “You’re right.” He let his head slump forward.
The figure turned right and hailed a cab. It was a woman and she wore a wide pink hat and big sunglasses.
Get up, get up. Move! Ailsa pushed past the dread in her gut and grabbed the wheel. She turned to follow the figure. “Hit the gas,” she whispered. “The gas.”
“But—” started Gabriel. “Oh, okay.” The taxi inched forward.
Ailsa grabbed his knee and pushed it down. The taxi zoomed up and then descended until it scraped the roof and hood of the other taxi.
“Oh, Jesus,” whispered Gabriel. “They’re going to correct me for this.” His head hung forward and his shoulders hunched.
“Zora,” yelled Ailsa.
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sp; The figure looked up. It was her.
“Get in this car,” said Ailsa.
Zora exited the cab and ran back towards XLS1.
“Follow her!” yelled Ailsa.
“I don’t know, darling,” said Gabriel. “I feel… I feel so—”
“It’s Texa! She’s projecting her feelings onto us. Just work through it!”
Gabriel sighed. “I don’t know.”
“Then move and let me drive,” said Ailsa. She pushed him but his bulk refused to budge.
Ailsa turned around. “Baby, I know you feel bad.”
“So hungry…” said Texa. “My head hurts.”
“But we’re going to get food in a minute, as soon as we get Zora back.”
Texa’s eyebrows went up. “Zora? I like her! When can we see her again?”
Gabriel sat up straight. He ascended the taxi and turned to pursue Zora. “Wow, I don’t know what came over—”
“I’m so thirsty,” said Texa. She drew in a ragged breath through her mouth.
The taxi slowed down again.
Darkness enveloped Ailsa’s mind once more. Her head hung forward and she breathed through her mouth.
No. She grabbed Gabriel’s knee and pushed it down again. The taxi accelerated and passed Zora. “Look, baby girl, it’s Zora!”
Texa looked at her with unfocused eyes. “She’s kind of nice…”
Gabriel picked up his head. He whipped the car around one-hundred and eighty degrees. He advanced abruptly and the woman was on the hood.
“No!” the wide-hatted woman yelled. She scampered away.
Ailsa opened her door, ran out and pulled her into the car. She closed the door behind her.
Ailsa ripped off the woman’s hat and big glasses. “It is you!” She held Zora’s neck between her thumb and forefinger. “What did you inject us with?”
“Hi Zora!” said Texa. “Mommy, be nice to her. And I want a cheeseburger, please. Real meat.”
Death Shop: With Hope, Anything is Possible — Or Not Page 5