Essentially Human (12 page)

Other times, she’d lay in the warm sand, her music player driving her from one extreme emotional plateau to another. She’d deduced that the dancing would bring Sam out, to draw her back from the music, so she learned to listen and be still.

Sam took her into town at least once a day and she tried a different flavored milkshake each time. She knew it wouldn’t be long before they’d be off on their search for the two missing Aleena and tried to learn all she could, working to fit in among the humans…among her people?

On the fourth day, he sat at the table in the cabin, lost in some intricate article about politics. She glanced at it over his shoulder, then sighed. When he focused like this, she knew he’d be hours. He had the player tuned to the music filters the Aleena had put in place and scribbled on a tablet to one side. She tapped on his shoulder.

He paused the program and turned to her.

“Sam, I want to walk into town. On my own. I can do it, I’ll just go to Smiley’s, I promise. I won’t say anything I shouldn’t or draw attention to myself. I’m hungry and…” She stopped when he held up a hand and smiled.

“I think it’s a good idea. You need to stretch your confidence. Just stay at Smiley’s. I’ll be another hour and then I’ll join you. I have a list of groceries we need, so I’ll get those first.” He gestured at the bowl on the other end of the table, where the credit chits rested. “Be sure to take enough.”

It had taken her time to figure out how the money had changed. Plastic, similar to credit cards, reloadable. He bought them at the market, exchanging old fashioned bills his brother-in-law had stashed away.

She gathered a handful of the differently colored squares, put on a lightweight shirt she used as a jacket and headed down the path to town. Starting her in a small town had been a good idea. When they’d first walked into Smiley’s, she’d stared at the man behind the counter, trying to understand what it was about him that made him so different from Sam. Or the other men she’d seen on the
Ballard
.

Sam finally told her Smiley was a vet and his eyes were artificial.

“Oh. That’s why he never blinks.” She’d made that connection once he’d told her. Now she found him a friendly tease. He liked to comment on how she was the only customer he knew who read the daily newssheet in detail. She often asked him about items that confused her. Sam had told him she came from a town even smaller than this one.

The afternoon was on the warm side and she studied the menu for several minutes, while he waited. Finally, he spoke up, “You haven’t tried the butterscotch mocha yet.”

“That sounds good. I was just trying to figure out what would taste good, since it’s so warm outside.” She peered at the extensive menu.

“I suggest a hot dog and fresh chips. They’ll be crispy but not hot and the relish for the dog will refresh the palate.” He grinned at her and she suspected he was teasing her. But her mouth also watered at the selection, so she nodded.

Twenty minutes later, she sat at a corner table, watching the video feed on the wall, trying to follow the back and forth regarding the new cure for the Shakes and what it meant for the country’s economy when the borders reopened to areas that had been closed for years. It seemed the pundits couldn’t decide if it were good for the market or bad. She snickered, hoping it screwed with the moneymakers.

She had finished the food and was working on her second milkshake when the door opened and two men entered who she’d never seen before. She bent over the shake, letting the shaggy ends of her chopped up hair drape across her face. Sam had been keeping an eye out for strangers. Granted, she and Sam hadn’t been there long, but they dressed casually, like the locals. These two were wearing suits, dark glasses and one carried what she’d call a messenger bag.

Their eyes passed over her as she slurped loudly at the shake. Her ears tuned out the music and news program and zeroed in on them. They ordered two hamburgers and then one walked past her to use the restroom. Her nose twitched, a hint of chemicals lingered behind him.

The other took a seat at the bar, his back to her and tried to chat Smiley up, asking about the local economy, good places to fish, and then finally, if any strangers were in town. Smiley had his back to her when that question was asked. She whirled her straw in the icy drink and lifted it, licking off the excess. Her belly rolled, fear eating her inside. But her instinct to hide stayed at the forefront. She had to act like she fit in.

Smiley turned and called out to her. “Sweet cakes, you want another one?”

She drew a breath and called out. “Yeah, how about banana?”

He chuckled and turned to the blender while answering the query. “Strangers? Not this time of the year. Give it another month and the hunters will show up. But we know most of them.”

Ria pushed her empty glass to the side and stood up, heading for the restroom. She pushed the door to the women’s room open just as the second man exited the men’s. He walked by her as if she didn’t exist. She took a deep breath and counted to twenty, then slid out the back door, running for the cabin, more grateful for her ability to fade into the background than ever before.

She darted down the trail, her heart pounding like a drum.

Why wasn’t she falling asleep? Was Sam right, the conditioning was fading? Or maybe a fear, with something to actually react to, triggered different things? Like a fast reaction? On the ship, fear left her nothing to do but be scared.

It felt good to have something to do, somewhere to go. She raced into the clearing and darted up the steps. “Sam!”

She heard nothing, no reply. Hell, had he gone into town already? She ran to the shore, but he wasn’t there. The garage? She checked it out, but no sign of him there.

The burst of adrenaline stayed with her. She turned and sprinted back to town, heading for the market. She turned the corner and spied Sam, a cloth bag over his shoulder. She waved and he stopped, eyes searching beyond her. She pointed at Smiley’s and shook her head. He ducked behind a rusty old green van and she joined him.

“Two strangers, in suits, ordered hamburgers.” She panted, her limbs trembling. “I went to the cabin…you were gone.”

“There and back?” He touched her arms. “You’re shaking.”

“I ran. I didn’t know I could run…like that.” She grinned, then her eyes suddenly grew heavy. “No!”

He studied her and then lightning quick, he slapped her. She reeled back from it, but it worked. Her head cleared. “Back to the cabin, we’re leaving tonight.”

“How?” She grabbed at the hand he extended and let him lead the way, down alleys to the outskirts of town.

He didn’t answer her for a moment, instead commenting on the car they’d seen enter town as they left. “More than two, it looks.”

“How can you tell?” She asked.

“Government plates. Not very smart of them.”

“He’s got the government looking for us?”

“Of course, I helped you escape, remember?”

“Oh, that’s right.” She sighed. “You’re a wanted man, not just me.” At least they would be doing something now. But she’d miss the shore. And she still had no idea how he planned on their leaving.

“We’ve found something, sir.”

Hammer listened to his man in Sunnyvale on his headset, as he oversaw the second round of testing with the sonar cannon. “Explain to me exactly what you’ve found.”

Commander Scicle sat at a nearby console, appearing to follow the Navy test, but in reality, coordinating the search for whoever Professor Bales had contacted. She’d fallen off their radar for nearly twenty four hours. It had taken days but finally her route was traced to a small Carolina coastal town and further investigation revealed the cabin once owned by Agent Montgomery’s brother-in-law in the same area. He wasn’t certain how far her betrayal of HRSD ran, but he suspected she had contacts in the underground movement.

Hammer knew one of his strongest abilities lay in making connections. She was part of the team Montgomery led for close to thirty years. It could be assumed that called for loyalty. He’d been a fool to think she’d give it up without more of a struggle.

Part of his attention followed the test, a portion listened to Scicle and the news from Sunnyvale. They’d found the cabin and it showed signs of recent habitation. Very recent. They’d missed the inhabitants by hours. Evidence in the garage led the men to believe the two had escaped on a solar powered motorcycle. No doubt the charge wouldn’t last long and they were confident of finding the two.

A fingerprint scan revealed one was Sam Montgomery. Of course, T’talin had lied to him about the agent. The other? Hadasa Jefla. The Aleena had set her back on land, Rachel Inez Aster. How fortuitous. He supposed they were concerned for her safety. After all, they had kept the author for twenty six years and they were sentimental. He looked forward to seeing her in his labs.

Scicle put out the alert that renegade Agent Montgomery had been seen in the area and the local law enforcement were to be on the lookout, but not to attempt arrest, only report sightings. Their men would take care of his seizure.

Scicle paused and sent a private message to Hammer. “Do you want Bales picked up?”

He shook his head. He’s rather question her himself, the better to ascertain her role and see how useful she could be if Montgomery succeeded in leading them on a serious chase.

The ship vibrated as the sonar weapon fired again. There was a flurry of activity as screens were examined, fingers pointed, chatter erupted. A large mass appeared to be floating to the surface. Not large enough to be the Aleena ship, but perhaps one of their scouts? He walked to a door leading to an outside deck and watched.

“A whale, sir!”

Hammer stifled his urge to smile. That idiot author would be disturbed by the casualty.

Good.

Ria clung to Sam’s waist, astounded at the speed and maneuverability of the big motorcycle. What amazed her most was the silence. The fully operational electric bike made no noise. She’d grown up going to race tracks to watch stock cars roar around the ovals. And later her husband liked to attend the motorcycle races. The noise always bothered her and she’d wear excellent earplugs, but the whine of the engines always broke through.

The industry had been experimenting with electric bikes, but found the battery life too short for a long race. Not with this bike. Sam told her it was a prototype, coated with a solar cell skin that meant it constantly restored its power during the daylight hours. It also stored that power for up to twelve hours of optimal riding.

“The helmets and jackets are part of the system.” He’d strapped several bags to the back of the bike, helped her into a jacket that proved too big even with the straps and belts tightened. “It will have to do.” He tied his hair back before picking up a black helmet, silver metallic flakes making the paint pop with brightness.

She took the helmet from him and sighed. She’d grown used to the cabin and now, before she felt ready, they were taking off for the greater world. Nothing to do about it but accept.

He touched her hand. “We’ve talked about this. You do know how to passenger. It’s a very fast bike, just hold to me.” Then he pulled gloves from a compartment and pointed to a pad on the palms. “This activates the built in microphone and speakers on your helmet, so you can talk to me.”

“The technology has certainly come far.” She slid the helmet on, amazed at how snug it fit. Then the gloves. They looked too big but aside from the thumb being too big, they weren’t bad.

He checked the fit of her helmet and she smiled, appreciating his concern for her. He climbed onto the big bike and she followed. Reaching back, he made certain her feet were on the pegs. A chirp sounded at her ears, then his voice. “We’ll get both of us a good pair of boots as soon as possible.”

She nodded, tapping her helmet on his before she realized she could answer. She triggered her mic to reply. “I’m sorry your sister’s boots didn’t fit me. At least the jumpsuit worked.”

He warned her as they began to roll that the bike could travel well over one hundred miles per hour. “Doubtful we’ll need to use it. But I want you to pay attention to my body, move with me, don’t fight. If we need to run, hold tight and just glue yourself to my back.”

“Okay. I’m not a total stranger to this. I think.” There were some faint memories of riding a motorcycle at the back of her head.

They were more than two hundred miles away by midnight, heading up the coast. Even though the bike was silent, the sound of the rushing air filled her head. Once she nearly drifted asleep, but Sam must have felt her muscles loosen, because he gripped her hand.

“Hey, falling asleep isn’t an option. Talk to me so I’ll stay awake.”

“Could we listen to music?”

“Talk.”

For some reason, talking with this man unnerved her. She doubted he’d want to chat about how she felt, not while navigating through a dark landscape on a speeding vehicle, but still. “What do you want to talk about?”

“What was it like to be on one of those big cruise ships?”

That seemed like a safe topic, as long as he didn’t ask about the last cruise she took. She talked about some of the high points of the vacations she’d taken with her husband, to the Caribbean, to Mexico, New England in the fall, Hawaii, the Mediterranean and her favorite, Alaska.

He’d nod or ask the occasional question, just enough to keep her talking. During a pause, she had a sudden thought. “Are cruise lines still active?”

“Ah. No. A casualty of being a terrorist target considered too big a risk after two were targeted. One in Mexico was destroyed. Another in the Mediterranean took heavy damage but the casualties were light. The device used malfunctioned. After that…well, few people vacation outside of the country anymore.”

“Oh. That is such a pity.” She considered what she’d read of Hammer and his machinations. “Do you think they were real terrorists or … what would you call them? Propaganda terrorists?”

“I think Mexico was one Hammer was involved with. Not the Mediterranean.”

She sighed. “So, do people sail to Hawaii? Or Alaska?”

“Some, but rising ocean currents and melting glaciers have changed a lot of coastal areas, Ria. The rising prices of fuel keep most people near home.”

“What about this bike? Doesn’t it prove that solar powered transportation is viable?”

“This was a prototype, made in Europe. My brother-in-law raced and retired with it. They never did well here in the US. And trade restrictions made the import of the solar technology prohibitive. Came up with some rational why it was bad for the country.”

She felt him let out a deep breath before he continued, “In hindsight, it’s easy to see how we were manipulated into supporting the industries that were destroying the planet.”

“People resist change. I gave up…” She closed her eyes, not ready to discuss her suicide. “So people have stay-cations. I suppose that isn’t a bad thing. I did love traveling. Probably more than I should have considering the environmental cost.  Where have you traveled, Sam?”

“As an investigator for the armed forces, most places they are worried about infiltration of enemy persons, etc. The last ten years, mostly local work.”

The silence grew between them. She shifted her position and looked out on the other side of the road. “It’s so quiet. Where are the cars? I don’t even see that many lights in the distance. I thought the East Coast was more populated.”

“The Shakes killed a lot of people. The fuel shortages keep people at home and the coast isn’t as occupied as it once was. Parts of New York City are subject to coastal tide invasion as is the rest of the Eastern seaboard. And it’s late. There will be more people the further north we travel.”

“How long are we staying on the road tonight?” She’d gotten used to regular hours for sleeping.

“Another few hours. You tired?”

“I don’t know. Maybe.”

“Let’s stop and stretch. I don’t think anyone is one to us. They probably thought they had us back at the cabin.”

“I’m going to miss the milkshakes. I didn’t get to try all of his flavors.”

She felt him shake his head and smiled. Ten minutes later, he slowed down and turned on a small side road that rose so they’d have a view of the nearly deserted highway. Switching the bike off, the lights dimmed and the darkness closed in deeper than she was used to.

He fiddled with the connections and helped her remove the helmet, setting it on the seat and doing the same with his. “Take a moment to let your eyes adjust,” he advised.

There were few stars visible in the sky. She assumed clouds obscured them, since there was little light getting in the way. She recalled concerns about light pollution when she was younger, washing out the view of the Milky Way. Seemed a small thing to be worried about at this point. Even the air around Sam’s cabin had been tainted with yellow haze. Light would have been so much more benign than what the future actually faced.

“It was never truly dark on the ship,” she spoke softly. “I don’t think I realized it until now.”

“Were you ever fearful of the dark?”

Shaking her head, she took a deep breath. “No. I was rather fond of the dark. I think. Sometimes, I can remember late night drives…heading off into somewhere I needed to be.”

“Ria, do you try to remember your past?”

A shiver traveled up her spine at his question and she wasn’t sure why. Sam wanted to know about who she’d been but she’d never felt that fixation. The emotions hiding there were too frightening. After a moment, she answered him but probably didn’t tell him what he wanted to know. “The dark never frightened me. Who I was, did.”

“Are you sure it wasn’t what you did, not who you were that frightened you? Still frightens you?”

Too direct.

She walked a few steps away, where the road ended and the land fell away toward the highway. Not a steep slope. Gazing down, she had this flash of memory. How white the foam at the back of the ship had been, gleaming in the bow lights, two long streams trailing off into the dark… A sudden vertigo hit her and she swayed forward.

It had been a long fall. Had she regretted the plunge? Why couldn’t she remember? She wanted to remember…something real.

“Ria!” Arms wrapped around her and she felt his chest at her back. His breath at her neck. “I’m sorry, this isn’t the time to bring it up.”

Tilting her head, she rested it at his forearm and stared out into the night. “Why not? I simply don’t have answers for you, Sam. Everything about who I was and what I did…it’s too far away. I’m not even frightened of it anymore.” Amazing, how easy that lie came out of her.

He hugged her, a pillar of strength and oddly enough, security. She’d been sheltered with the Aleena. Or maybe not. They were safe, but perhaps not secure. She shook her head, too befuddled with the lack of a vocabulary to really express herself. And she’d once made her living with words!

“We all live in fear. Don’t deny yourself that emotion. Even living far from the past, you knew fear.”

“Yes, but it wasn’t something I can explain.” She turned. “I didn’t want to feel it. Fear and despair and not knowing…” Her voice trailed off, and she felt tears filling her eyes. “I don’t know…the specifics fill me with uncertainty.” She swallowed, suddenly ashamed of her weakness. He needed her to hold together. This wasn’t the time to dig into the unknown.

She pushed herself away from him, angling back toward the bike. “How many aquariums are we going to visit? And how will you know, without gaining admittance, if the missing Aleena are inside?”

“We are going to figure this out, Ria. All of it.” His steps grated in the rough roadway as he joined her. “T’talin said the ear filters would help and that you’d be able to help.”

“Me?” She frowned, wiping the near tears out of her eyes. “How?”

“I don’t know, we’ll find out when we find out.” He sounded resigned to not knowing. She wondered how frustrating that must be for a man normally in charge of people who brought him answers.

It wasn’t terribly reassuring that he accepted being ignorant. So long on that ship and living with the Aleena did leave her sensitive to things humans would miss, perhaps. Scent, sound. She certainly found her taste buds overactive. She swallowed as the sudden thought of a handful of Smiley’s hot French fries filled her mind. “We haven’t eaten in hours, Sam. Are there late night diners anywhere?”