Greg glanced into his rearview mirror. “God, you were right. Rose is one freaky robot. No offense to your family, but I couldn’t get out of your house fast enough.”
“I’m with you there,” she whispered. “It’s just gotten worse since our last e-mail.”
“You know they’re trying to replace us, right? Over the next four years, the resort’s slowly going to phase the automatons in as patrol.”
Bringing up her knees, Alainn covered her face. “That sucks.”
He nudged her. “We have a couple more years, but yeah, sucks. So . . .” He drew the word out. “Your dad not-so-subtly told me to ask you out.”
“Oh God, Greg. I’m sorry. He thinks you’re harboring some secret crush.” Heat filled her cheeks.
“Oh, yeah, of course I am. Please, Alainn Murphy, be mine.” He gave her a saucy smile.
“If only. I think I might have to fight Stephanie for that one, and Terry, and half the snow bunnies,” she teased.
It was a well-known fact that pretty-boy Greg had groupies.
“Just Karla.” He grinned, looking genuinely happy.
“Karla? Nice. Congrats.” Alainn swallowed and looked away, suddenly fighting emotion. Her hands wiped at her face roughly.
She was crying in Greg’s car.
Shit.
“As much as I’d appreciate it if girls cried because I was off the market, I’m figuring that’s not for me.” He looked over. “You want to talk about it?”
She squeezed her eyes shut. “I’ll tell you. Just not right now. I just want to get up on my mountain and forget the last four months ever happened.”
“That can be arranged.”
Even though Alainn didn’t believe him, she felt just a little bit better.
31
April 6, 2027
Shelly Dover climbed out of the self-driving car and into Lor’s garage, looking around. Generally, she didn’t like parking lots. Too many angry people drove around, causing too much confusion. People yelled because they wanted to pull out of spaces, or wanted to drive past, or passed out flyers for something she didn’t want. People would honk when you took a space or as they waited for you to pull out of your spot so that they could take it.
Actually, Shelly hated parking lots; the only time she would ever use one was when she visited her family in Idaho and didn’t have a choice.
Lor’s parking lot wasn’t like that. It was beautifully empty of any people at all. Open, empty, not at all overwhelming or stressful. When she entered the hallway leading to the elevator, it was also blessedly empty.
“Shelly Dover, please follow me,” said a smooth mechanical voice.
“Okay, thank you,” Shelly said. The voice led her to an elevator and told her to enter, two things she did without complaint.
In the elevator, Shelly followed every instruction, took off her clothing, was washed, dried and re-dressed. She’d expected the process to be unpleasant, but she found it more enjoyable than anything else. She’d had a sticky feeling on her hands since a homeless man had walked by and asked her for money. Afraid, she had given him a twenty before running away.
There really could have been a germ exchange there.
When the elevator door opened and she found Lor waiting for her outside, she grinned wide and had to comment, “I can definitely see the benefit of the decontamination room.”
Lor smiled, though he looked tired. “I thought you would. Thank you so much for coming.”
“Of course I’d come.”
When Lor opened his arms, a little tentatively, Shelly moved into them, even more tentatively. It wasn’t his face that made her uncomfortable; he’d been showing it to her for a couple of months now. But Shelly never felt quite comfortable in a hug. She never knew where to put her hands or how much pressure to exert. Holding him somewhat awkwardly, she broke away after what she hoped was the right amount of time.
Shelly looked up into Lor’s face. “I can’t believe I’m finally seeing you in person. I’d expected it to be under different circumstances, but I’m happy to be here all the same.”
“Thank you.” He held out a hand, gesturing toward what looked to be a dining room. “Shelly, would you mind coming to my office?”
“Wherever, Lor.” She nodded. “I’ve seen it so many times, I bet I’ll feel comfortable there.”
“Good. I want you to be comfortable.”
“Your tower is very nice, very quiet and calm.” Shelly couldn’t help but observe Lor as they walked side by side through the dining room and to his office. She had imagined herself in Lor’s office so many times, just sitting near him, enjoying silence. Or, they would sit and talk for hours about robotics and new technologies.
It wasn’t as large as she imagined. In the many times she’d imagined it, it had never had two desks. Also, her fantasies had definitely never included the occupant of that second desk.
Shelly had imagined that she would hate the robot, Jade. Lor had bought Jade so that he could learn to be with Shelly, or at least that had been what he said.
Then, he’d said he instead wanted to be Shelly’s friend so that he could be with a robot.
Yes, she thought that she would hate the robot, but upon meeting the robot’s gaze, she found she didn’t. She felt absolutely nothing for the creature. Perhaps that was the appeal—the lack of humanity. She could somewhat understand that; it was like dating a book or your favorite movie.
“Hello. You must be Jade,” Shelly said as she stepped forward toward the robot’s desk.
“Yes, I’m Jade,” the robot said as she stood up, offering a hand over the desk.
As Shelly shook the hand, as not to be rude, she met Jade’s eyes. Quickly, she turned away, feeling a strange shock of fear. They were very like human eyes, perhaps too like human eyes, but soulless. How Lor had once looked into those eyes and been enchanted, Shelly would never understand.
“Should I leave, Lorccan? I’m finished with my work.” Jade turned to Lor with a grin.
“Yes, that might be best, Jade,” Lor said, holding the door open for her.
Shelly couldn’t help but feel a wave of relief as the robot left, and finally, for the first time ever, she could be alone with Lor.
32
April 11, 2027
“You ready?” Karla asked Alainn as they dismounted the chair lift. Her heart-shaped face was framed in a red beanie under a black helmet, the exact same as Alainn wore.
The slope was a sheet of fresh powder. They had probably had the final heavy snowfall of the year the night before. Greg and a couple of the higher-ups set off explosives at four that morning for avalanche control. There were a couple ski tracks on other courses already, but theirs was still pristine.
They were two drops of red on a perfect white expanse.
“Could I just have one minute? This is the first time I’ve been up to the top since I got back.”
“Sure. You want to just meet me down there?” Karla said, driving the ends of her poles into the snow with a thwack, snick.
“If that’s cool,” Alainn said.
Karla smiled a smile that made Alainn think she definitely knew.
Damn Greg.
Alainn had ended up spilling everything to her best friend—a story so outrageous she barely believed the words that came from her own lips. Honestly, she didn’t blame Greg for talking. It must be weird for Karla that Alainn was Greg’s roommate. If she were in his place, she’d want to reassure her, too.
Karla nodded. “All right, I’ll take the right side of the slope. See you down there.”
“Thank you, Karla.” Alainn turned from Karla, hearing the soft swish of her departure. Through the thick leather of her gloves, she pulled off the helmet and ski cap and let her hair fall. The wind had not picked up yet, but the cold air nipped at her cheeks and ears.
She stood at the apex of her mountain.
Beyond her, endless hills of black and white stretched, a wide expanse of buried wilderness. Her mountai
n always whispered out to her, Here, you could jump into the air and fly away. This is as close as you’ll ever be to free.
It said nothing that morning. The mountain waited in silence, watching Alainn. Taking a step to the side, Alainn considered that maybe she just wasn’t at the right angle. Instead of feeling free, she felt utterly alone.
She pulled her gear back on and tucked stray wisps of hair into it, feeling defiant curls sticking to her cheeks.
The mountain rushed under her skis as she sped down the slope. Air gusted over her face, up the bridge of her nose, and over her eyes. Weaving through the trees at the sides, Alainn confirmed the left side of the slope had no dangerous buildup or fallen branches.
Karla waited at the bottom. They said nothing to each other as Alainn slid in beside her, just started moving off to another lift. Small splotches of red were on most of the long white hills, framed in black lines of forest.
After three more slopes, they headed in to find the office bustling with patrol suited up in red coats.
“I’m making you ladies some of this,” Terry called from where he hulked over the communal stove. He opened up two packages of instant noodles and added it to the pot.
“Oh, please,” Karla called as she and Alainn knocked the snow off their feet on the thick rubber matt.
“Thanks,” Alainn said, falling into the chair.
Terry glanced up at Alainn. “I think you’re supposed to say, ‘That’s nasty.’ Then I’ll say, ‘Shut up, you’re eating it.’ Then you say, ‘Looks like cat barf.’”
She looked through her lashes at him, almost managing a smile. “Looks like cat barf—smells like it, too.”
“Better. And shut up, you’re eating it.”
“See, no point in fighting you,” she mumbled.
“Eight thirty, guys. Slopes are opening up. You are officially on duty!” Greg called from his office—in reality, his desk was just partitioned off from the rest of the room, so it did not quite qualify as an office. He slapped the partition twice before ducking back behind it.
“Another day in paradise,” Terry said as he slopped soup bowls in front of Karla and Alainn and threw down forks.
Alainn immediately dug into the hot noodles, though the fake chicken soup really did taste a little like cat barf. The draft from the cold air hitting her on the outside and the warm liquid going down her throat used to be her favorite sensation, pre-Lorccan.
Post-Lorccan, not so much.
The office was too loud for much conversation, but Terry managed it anyway. “Twelve tongues I’ve saved this year, five of them adult tongues. I think I deserve some sort of reward.”
“I’m guessing you took your reward from some of those adult tongues,” Karla said wryly.
“You . . .” He pointed at Karla. “You are not allowed to bring up tongues and kissing. I’m still in too much pain.”
Karla rolled her eyes. “Ha. Shut up, Terry.”
“Hey, Alainn!” Greg stepped out from behind his alcove, his eyes moving back and forth in confusion. “Hey, uh, the front just called over and said there’s a woman with a monkey here to see you. You think that maybe—”
Alainn stood up so fast her chair toppled backward and soup sloshed all over the table.
Both Karla and Terry scooted back.
“Sorry!” Alainn called to them as she rounded the table to head over to Greg. “Did you say a monkey?”
He raised his hands. “That’s what they said.”
“Okay, I forgot to tell you about the monkeys!” she called, running out the back door that connected to the resort. People clogged the halls. Their knees poked out from benches and elbows stuck out as they lifted coffee and hot chocolate to their lips. She ducked between them, her damp coat making a few people recoil.
The hallway opened up to a large lobby where dozens of people lined up in front of and around the front desk, while others stood nearby.
As Alainn passed a crowd of about ten kids surrounding a yellow lab in a ski patrol vest, a fellow patroller called Stacy nodded at her. When Alainn waved absently, Stacy gave her a small smile but didn’t stop her speech. “Now, Riley here is our newest avalanche rescue dog, and he’s actually a K-level automaton. He’s the first automaton dog we’ve used. Do any of you know what an avalanche is?” Her voice trailed off as Alainn pushed through the crowd.
Alainn saw her sitting on top of the front desk. Blue. She was surrounded by a crowd of small children and looking around while they reached up to pet her. The moment her eyes found Alainn, she screeched and held out her little arms.
The children looked back, confused. A little girl yelled, “Look, there’s a monkey in a dress!”
Blue leaped off the desk, her little monkey arms going around Alainn’s neck.
“What—how??” Alainn hugged Blue to her. Blue’s little body felt so natural, not at all like a robot or an automaton. “How are you here?” Alainn whispered.
Blue pulled away, her hand going out to point to a woman standing in the crowd. She made a monkey screech, then shook her pointing hand.
The woman’s face was slack, a mask of absolute shock. She obviously recognized Alainn, but Alainn didn’t know her. The woman was shorter than Alainn by a couple of inches. Her long, brown hair stuck out to one side of a pretty face, as if she had just taken her hat off.
A gloved hand rose, pointing into Alainn’s face. “You think I can’t figure out what’s going on here?” The woman whispered the words, harshly.
Alainn stared, and then glanced around at the crowd—everyone was watching them, avidly.
“I’m calling the police. You belong in jail.” Even though the woman’s quiet voice cracked with emotion as she said it, it sounded very familiar.
“Um . . .” Alainn shook her head, and tried to get Blue off her, but the little fingers dug into the back of Alainn’s neck.
Blue shook her head and then made a low screech at the woman.
The woman further pointed into Alainn’s face. “I’m calling the police right now. You and your father are a pair of con artists, and you’re not getting away with this!” Tears now shone on the woman’s face, shiny tracks on pale, freckled skin.
“You’re—are you Shelly Dover?” Alainn asked as the humiliating realization washed over her.
“Yes, and there’s no way I’ll let you get away with this!”
Alainn knew she should be feeling guilty. She knew this was the moment of truth where she, “the other woman,” was exposed as the villain she was. But she didn’t feel guilty. What Alainn felt was a surge of anger.
He chose Shelly; he chose to be with her.
But nope, that wasn’t good enough. Shelly had to find Alainn and make her suffer. She had to take everything Alainn had left and drive her farther into the ground.
“Stop, okay! This is where I work. This is inappropriate.”
Her job was the only thing stopping Alainn from showing up at Lorccan’s tower begging to be let in again. Shelly probably didn’t want that, either.
“Inappropriate? You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“Just go, okay? You can’t have me arrested. You’re just humiliating me in front of my colleagues while I’m already having a hard time coping.”
Shelly took a step backward and whispered, “You’re going to prison for this.”
Seriously?
Alainn blew out a breath and turned to the receptionist, who was openly gaping at the scene. Fortunately, she was a human and not one of the new automaton receptionists. Alainn leaned over the counter with Blue still clinging to her. “Could you call Greg at the patrol office and tell him I’m going to be a little while?”
The receptionist gave her a grimace of support and looked over to Shelly, who was on her phone—probably calling the police.
“How long should I tell him you’re going to be?”
Alainn closed her eyes, feeling the humiliation creep up her face in a flush. “That’s my . . . ex-boyfriend’s current girlfriend, so
I might need a little while to clear this up.”
She nodded, still grimacing. “All right, I’ll call over. Good luck.” She sounded like she meant it.
Alainn thanked all that was good in this world that Greg loved her, because she deserved to be fired, again. It was even possible he’d do it this time, but unlikely. Unfortunately, it wasn’t even close to the biggest pile of dung she had hurled his way.
Steeling herself, she turned back to Shelly.
Shelly was off the phone, meaning that the local police were probably on their way. Unluckily for Shelly, the police here were not only all still humans, but Alainn knew each of them. Meaning they’d take the time to listen to Alainn’s side of the story and wouldn’t arrest her.
“Shelly, how about we step outside? I’ll let you whisper at me or wait for the police or whatever. Just not here, okay?”
Blue screeched at Shelly, again, holding her little hand out.
Shelly looked between Alainn and Blue. She sucked in her cheeks, still looking shocked. Even this upset, her face was beautiful, like a Renaissance painting of an angel.
Obviously, she was of the avenging angel sort.
Shelly lifted a dry-erase board that she had tucked under her arm and put it in Blue’s outstretched hand. In Blue’s other small hand, she placed a dry-erase pen.
Blue took both and propped the board against Alainn’s chest.
Alainn stretched her neck back as the board pushed into her throat. “What are you doing, Blue?”
But she ignored Alainn, opening the pen with both her hands. As the pungent dry-erase pen scent wafted up, Blue used two hands to write across the board. When she was done, she handed the board back to Shelly with a teeth-baring screech.
Shelly read the message, looked between Blue and Alainn again, then said, “I won’t yell at you anymore. But let’s stay inside where it’s warm. I still—I don’t believe you. This—” She held up the board.
You are wrong, was written across it in rough letters.
Shelly continued, “This could just mean you’ve conned Blue as well.”
Ensnared Page 18