In the Lurch

by Beth Martin

  “Do you have any outfit preferences?”

  “Gray. Just something gray.” It was her favorite color, a fact Ava teased her about all the time. Only Leona is dull enough to love such a drab color.

  Bellabot returned with a knit gray tunic. She slipped it over Leona’s head, and Leona struggled to force her arms through the sleeves. Then the bot held out a pair of leggings which she stepped into.

  “Your breath indicates that you are still intoxicated. Would you like a cup of strong coffee?”

  “Yes. Thanks.”

  “Perhaps also a breath mint before you meet your father?”

  Leona sighed. What would she do without Bellabot? She grabbed the mint from the extended limb and popped it in her mouth before striding out of her room, down the sweeping staircase, and across the entrance hall. The office door was propped open, so she walked right in.

  Spencer Poole was a believer in hard work, although hard work was no longer required from anyone. He spent eight hours every day in his office, poring over details of their estate and managing the robot workforce. It seemed totally superfluous since the computer systems could easily automate all the decisions he insisted on making himself. Sure enough, he was sitting at his desk, looking over a stack of papers.

  Her father’s office was a beautiful room, but not nearly as ornate as the rest of their house. The desk, along with the bookshelves lining the walls, were all made by hand—human hands. The floor and walls were paneled in wood stained a honey color to match the furniture. The rest of the house was all concrete and curved lines, whereas Spencer preferred right angles for his work area.

  “Hello, Daddy,” Leona said as she walked through the room to her father.

  He stood and embraced his daughter. Even though she was an adult, her father still seemed like a giant compared to her. He was tall and strong, yet still soft and cuddly. She always felt safe when he wrapped his arms around her. As she breathed in deeply, she could smell the familiar scent of his aftershave.

  He let go and held her at arm’s length. The lines on his dark face were even more pronounced as he gave her a look of concern. His wrinkled features and all-gray hair made him appear much older than his age. “You partied pretty hard last night, didn’t you?”

  She stuck out her bottom lip. “How can you tell?”

  “Bellabot always gives you the extra breath mints to mask the smell.”

  Leona gave a sheepish nod. She knew her father didn’t approve of her late-night activities. “You said you had news.”

  “Yes.” He settled back in his chair and gestured that she should sit as well. “Something happened at the Cooper Estate.” Leona leaned forward in her seat, trying to indicate she was listening closer than she actually was. “There was a fire. It wiped out a good bit of the fields and one of their storage centers.”

  “That sucks,” she blurted out, not thinking before she spoke.

  “Yes, it does.” He sighed. He was clearly distressed by this news, the frown on his face emphasizing the deep lines on his brow. “The fire was intentional.”

  “What do you mean? How can a fire be intentional?”

  “Gasoline was poured onto the fields before they were set aflame. Somehow, the security bots were deactivated, leaving the property vulnerable.”

  “Damn.” Leona exhaled loudly, taking in the news. “So now what?”

  Spencer rubbed a hand over his brow. “I don’t know if this was a random act of violence, or if the responsible party intends to continue terrorizing. I’m looking into strategies to protect us from something like this. But, for the time being, I’m putting together a care package for the Cooper family. The storage center which burned down had held their nursery, so they don’t have any young plants to replace the ones lost.”

  She sat back, not entirely interested in the details of some care package. Although she felt bad for their plight, she didn’t see what she was supposed to do about it. “Can’t the robots handle all of that?”

  He gave her a stern look. “The Coopers have been incredibly supportive to us, and right now they need our help. We help our friends.” Leona dramatically rolled her eyes. She knew her father’s relationship with Mrs. Cooper had been more than just friendly. “I want you to give a special gift to Stacy,” he added.

  She wasn’t too fond of the Cooper’s eight-year-old daughter. Stacy always wanted to play, dragging Leona into her little pretend games. The girl needed more companion bots. Maybe that was the gift she’d get the girl. “I will do just that.”

  “Thank you, darling.” He gave her a warm smile.

  Her body felt heavy as she stood up, and the only thing she wanted to do at that moment was crawl back in bed. She excused herself, left her father’s office, and went up to her bedroom.

  As she slipped back under the covers, she imagined flames licking at an enormous storage center. Who would do something like that? What if her family was targeted next? She rolled to the side and peeked at the chair where her newest robot still sat. “Jon, go to storage.”

  Only after the door closed behind the lover bot did she let herself fall asleep.

  • • •

  Roemell held his arm around Jovelyn’s back, helping her walk along the path. The sun was beginning to set, and they needed to find a place to rest for the night before dark.

  She was breathing hard again—no doubt more contractions. “You okay there, Jo?”

  She nodded and forced a smile. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  Scanning the landscape around them, he looked for a place to camp out. The weather was pleasant and didn’t get too cold at night, so a simple shelter would suffice. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky and only the faintest breeze. The road no longer hugged the shore, now cutting through an expanse of sparse grass and a few low trees. The ocean was past the horizon to their left, and on the right was a fenced field with mountains in the distance.

  “Why don’t we stop here?” he said, gesturing to a clear, level area just to the side of the road. She nodded, and he helped her sit down on a piece of pavement that jutted up above the rest.

  Opening his pack, Roemell pulled out supplies to erect a temporary shelter. He had a large piece of plastic tarp stolen from a field, which he hung over a frame made of light aluminum tubing. Next, he rifled through his bag looking for some food. Jovelyn had been eating more than he had accounted for, but he wasn’t about to let her go hungry. He could make do with less food for the evening.

  He gave a meal bar to his sister before opening his own. It was the only food the previous shelter had offered, and these were their last two bars. They needed to find another shelter soon.

  Jovelyn tore into her bar, barely chewing before swallowing and taking another big bite. After eating a single nibble from his, Roemell made a disgusted face. “Oh, this one tastes awful.” He looked at the wrapper. “Ew! Vanilla.”

  Already finished with her bar, she said, “I like vanilla.”

  He shoved his hand toward her, offering her the rest of his meal. “Here, you eat it. If I take another bite, I’ll gag.”

  She looked at him, and they seemed to have an unspoken conversation with just that glance, her seeing through his lie, and him urging her to just take his food. “Thank you,” she whispered before eating the second bar.

  Roemell busied himself using a hand pump to blow up the mattress. A foam mat would have been lighter and less annoying to carry, but the inflatable cushion made a huge difference in comfort, something they didn’t get nearly enough of. Once he was finished, Jovelyn immediately got situated in the improvised tent and fell asleep.

  He laid down next to her and pulled their threadbare blanket over himself. While she leaned on her side with her back facing him, he almost couldn’t tell she was pregnant. But if she hadn’t been, they wouldn’t be here on the road, desperately looking for a new place willing to take them in. If his body hadn’t been so exhausted, the anxiety of their uncertain future could have kept him up all night. But within mome
nts of settling down, he nodded off.

  A red glow roused him from his sleep. It was too early to be the sunrise. He rubbed his eyes and sat up, pushing aside the plastic film to get a clear view. A wave of heat hit his face as he took in the enormous brush fire which was only fifteen feet away. Jumping out of the tent, he looked around. The line of flames stretched as far as he could see in both directions, and it was coming toward them.

  He rushed back to their shelter and shouted, “Jovelyn, we need to go, now!”

  She moaned as she stirred. “Something’s not right.”

  “There’s a fire. Come on, we need to hurry!” He dropped to his knees and helped her sit up, the motion making her yelp in pain. He pulled away the blanket to find a dark stain on the mattress below her. “Jo, you’re bleeding.”

  She moaned again. “I think the baby’s coming.”

  “I’m really sorry, sis, but we don’t exactly have time for you to give birth right now.” He looked around, glancing at the fire which was now licking the edge of their shelter. He pushed away the plastic covering which made their tent and it fell into the flames, which quickly devoured the thin material. He didn’t have time to grab anything other than her. “I’m going to have to carry you.”

  He pulled her upright as she gasped for breath, then with one arm around her back, he scooped her up from behind her knees. She felt too light to be a grown woman who was eight months pregnant, but he didn’t have time to worry about that. Instead, he ran. The fire was now blazing over the entire path, so he had to tread on bare feet through the brush. He wasn’t sure how far they were from the ocean, but they would be safe if they made it to water.

  He pushed his body to its limit, becoming dizzy as he ignored the pain in his muscles. For a moment, he looked back to see the frame of their impromptu shelter with his pack inside, ablaze. All of their possessions were in that pack, including his water canteen.

  He had to keep going. Their lives depended on it. Jovelyn continued to moan, and beads of sweat covered her brow. After sprinting for a few minutes, his exhaustion caught up with him and he had to slow down. There was some distance now between them and the fire.

  “You holding in there, Jo?” She made an agonizing moan. He stopped and helped her lie down on the ground, unsure what to do next. Her clothing below her round belly was soaked in blood. “You’re doing great, Jo. Just hang in there with me.”

  His heart was thumping out of control. He had no idea what was involved in the birthing process, but he was pretty sure this amount of bleeding wasn’t a good sign. The fire continued to advance, however, so he knew they couldn’t stay here.

  Jovelyn screamed out in pain, a sound which tore Roemell apart. His muscles were tense; he needed to act. The air was thick with smoke, and as he breathed harder in his state of panic, his lungs began to strain for oxygen. He grasped his knees in his hands and tried to inhale deeply, but erupted into a coughing fit instead. His thoughts raced in every direction, but he still couldn’t figure out what they should do.

  They were completely alone with no one to offer help. Roemell would have to get Jovelyn to the coast and onto the wet sand where they would be safe from the raging fire, then deliver the baby himself. His stomach turned at the thought.

  “I’m going to pick you back up.” He strained to lift his sister and continued striding toward the ocean. His muscles screamed in protest with every step, and his lungs burned from the hot, ashy air. The fire had progressed across the dilapidated roadway and was advancing quickly though the dry grass. He thought he could hear the ocean above the crackling of the fire and Jovelyn’s pained cries. Either that, or his mind was playing tricks on him, making him think safety was close by while in his desperate state.

  The red glow from the flames made it difficult to discern the terrain ahead, and Roemell had to slow down their pace. It appeared that the ground just stopped in front of him. His heart dropped in his ribcage as he dashed the last few steps. When he looked down, he saw the jagged edge of the rocky cliff and the reflection of moonlight against the crashing waves. There wasn’t any sort of beach below to rest on. They were trapped. He looked down to the thrashing ocean, back over to the blaze which was only twenty feet away, then to his sister’s anguished face. His neck and back were soaked in sweat, and his shirt was saturated in bright red blood. Burning alive seemed like an agonizing way to die, so he inched closer to the cliff’s edge.

  In the distance, over the crackling of the fire, he heard something that sounded like an engine. He looked toward the sound and saw a Jeep driving through the brush. Relief washed over him. “We’re going to ask these people driving by for help. Just hang in there with me, Jo.”

  She didn’t respond, instead wrapping her arms around her belly as she continued to scream.

  He scooped her back up and sprinted to intersect the path of the Jeep. It looked like there were two men inside. Once they saw Jovelyn’s condition, they would have to help.

  Only once the Jeep slowed to a stop in front of him did Roemell realize that the occupants weren’t people. They were robots styled to look like people, but the matte sheen of their rubbery exterior gave them away. And now their attention was completely on him.

  The bot in the driver seat kept the car idling as he addressed Roemell. “You two are trespassing. You need to leave now.”

  He cursed. If these had been security androids, he and Jovelyn would already be dead. But they were still robots which followed protocol and didn’t have empathy. “Please, my sister needs medical attention. She’s pregnant and bleeding heavily.”

  “You need to leave—”

  “There’s a fucking fire!” he shouted. Tears and sweat streaked down his face. He didn’t know what was worse: marching into the fire or watching his sister die while the heartless androids escorted them away. “We don’t have any time! She’s dying. She needs help.”

  The android turned its head to its companion for a moment before directing its optics back to Roemell. “I am not permitted to injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.”

  More tears flowed down his face. Every robot knew Asimov’s laws of robotics, but the only ‘human beings’ the machines recognized were the people who owned them. Androids viewed people like him as pests, annoying creatures which needed to be exterminated. He was so anxious his muscles started to shake, the initial burst of adrenaline clearly wearing off.

  “You have been charged by the Federal Police Department with trespassing. I have orders to detain you.”

  Roemell shook his head. “What? No! Please, she needs help!” If they were locked in detention cells, even he wouldn’t be able to help her. He looked at Jovelyn in his arms. She had stopped moaning, and instead hung limp, her face ghastly white. Blood dripped in a slow trickle onto the hard ground. He shook her, trying to elicit a response. “Jo, wake up. Wake up, Jo!”

  “Sir, you and the woman need to get in the vehicle immediately. I have been authorized to use force if necessary.”

  He began to openly sob. Instead of helping her, the androids were arresting her, guaranteeing that she wouldn’t get the care she needed. He carefully placed his sister in the back of the Jeep before taking a seat beside her. The vehicle jolted forward, then sped through the brush. He wiped long black hair away from her face, the strands wet and sticking to her skin, before embracing her and weeping into her shoulder. “I’m so sorry.” She was limp in his arms, but she was still breathing, barely.

  After the Cooper fields had been terrorized, the Patel and Newton Estates were attacked. Leona knew that their home had plenty of security androids, but her father was still on edge. And whenever he got anxious, the robots also started acting weird.

  Bellabot brought the new play android which Leona had commissioned up to her room. She wanted to do a final inspection of the gift before sending it to the Cooper girl.

  “Here is the companion robot you requested,” Bellabot said in a sing-song voice.

&nbs
p; Leona burst out laughing. The bot looked absolutely ridiculous.

  Bellabot turned from the small machine to Leona. “I gather that the companion robot is quite amusing, which was the intended purpose. Am I correct?”

  “Gah, no!” She collapsed into her bed in another fit of laughter.

  “Would you like me to package it and send it to Miss Stacy Cooper?”

  She had to focus on her breathing to stop laughing and answer. “Bellabot! What happened?”

  “I do not understand. It is exactly as you specified. Forty-two inches tall, blond hair, blue eyes, outgoing personality chip, with the appearance of a nine-year-old.”

  Leona snorted. “That’s no nine-year-old. She looks like she’s ninety.”

  Bellabot trained her optics to the little bot for a moment while calculating and processing data. “You are correct. This companion has the aesthetics of a much older human. I apologize. I will have a new, childlike-appearing skin manufactured immediately.”

  “Good,” she said, doing her best to suppress another round of giggles. “Where is Daddy?”

  “He is working in his office.”

  “Thanks, Bellabot.” Leona hopped up from her bed and left her bedroom, making her way to the office.

  The entire structure of their palatial home was constructed from fiber-reinforced concrete. The stairs arced down in a fluid spiral with only a narrow ledge recessed into the wall to hold onto. She looked to her right at the great room which was filled with white, upholstered furniture. This was her favorite room in the house. From the ceiling hung thousands of clear crystals which caught the light from the fixtures above, filling every surface with prisms of color. At nighttime, she could dim the lights and make an effect which mimicked the Aurora Borealis. She had seen them in person while visiting Norway a few years ago with her father, but the climate there was much too cold for her to want to return to see the natural phenomenon again.