Vamoose
by Floyd Looney
(apprx: 3,380 words)
I don't like this city, I don't like
crowds and I definitely don't like being outside at night in a place
like this. All the freaks of society are out and about and someone as
normal as me just does not belong. I just have some business that
needs tended to.
These streets at night are like the
worst parts of human degeneracy lit up like Vegas. You got your
normal drug-dealers and prostitutes during the day, but at night they
probably avoid this place too. You might think it'd be interesting if
you accidentally clicked on their website but being in the midst for
real is just too much.
There's a guy in a top hat and tie, and
nothing else, his face is painted like a devil. He's dancing in
circles as if he's trying to make himself dizzy. Over there is a
woman in a see-through booth, wearing nothing but high-heels, an
array of objects on a small table in front of her. For a small fee
she'll put on a “show” for you.
I keep walking, looking straight ahead.
There is a massive man walking ahead of me, his back is an electronic
billboard. Images moving around, advertising, even full video. His
entire broad back is one big implanted sub-dermal LED screen. I doubt
many people in the crowd are interested in Vita-Grow, no matter how
plants crave it.
Finally I spot the little bar, looking
out of place without neon signs and video boards, almost looked
closed. I ducked inside and head to the bar. A muscular man already
at the bar just ignores me, the laughing video skull on his bicep
poked out of the short sleeves. In the back I see a shape in the dark
that looks like the person I was here to meet.
“Just give me one Co-Va mixer.” I
tell the bartender who whips it up quickly. I take the drink and head
to the table in the back. He was facing the back wall and when I sat
down I would be able to see the whole bar.
“Is your name Carlos?”
I ask. He nodded. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the
holo-cube and laid it on the table. He's the 'let's just get this
done' type.
“I want enough DV to get through the
chute.” I say to him.
“Can't promise luxury, though. You
take what you can get. If you want too much, you'll never get off the
ground.” he said in a deep throaty voice.
I look to the left and roll my eyes,
Carlos was sounding like my dad.
I wanted off this sad, cadaverous
world. There were people out there selling arms and legs to cannibals
when they ran out of sell-able organs, for crying out loud. There was
no coming back from this fallen culture, civilization on this planet
was dead. I needed to get to one of the colonies, I didn't care how
primitive they were.
I finished the drink after Carlos took
the money and became gone. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the deadening
of the mental pain. Seeing a society dying from inside was not easy,
and while I didn't care about these people I did care for the
species. After it wore off enough for me to stay balanced I leave to
head back to the rat-hole motel.
I ignore the impromptu orgy in the
street, the latest craze they called “Caterpillar”. Once I reach
the motel and turned on some music to drown out the banging noises
from the next room I took the holo-cube and laid it on a table top.
I activated it with my wrist-comp and a
steady stream of data appeared in the air above it. Then there was an
image of a small, rusty four-man ship. It was old. One of the
experimental models in the early days of pre-light. There was no
galley, no compartments or storage. It was just a four-seat cock-pit
and engines.
It would have to work since it was all
I could afford. Plus, it was not registered. A ship that small would
be confused for a shuttle from one of the larger ships or from the
transfer station itself. It was small and light enough to slip into
the chute without putting everyone's lives in danger. The chute could
only handle so much tonnage at one time.
I would have to get to the ship alive
before I could leave though. Looking at the map I saw that there were
gang-controlled areas all about it. Security would have to be a prime
concern but if I carried an adequate amount, I would be carrying
fewer provisions.
There was a knock at the door. I lean
down and pull the pinzer from my boot before I walk over and tap the
preview button. The door becomes transparent, at least on my end. On
the other side was a young woman, a shiny bald head, a collar with a
short chain and black leather panties. Her nose and mouth were
bleeding and one eye was swollen closed.
It took a second to remember her.
Right, she had offered herself to me when I first arrived here, for a
price. Apparently she was homeless, a stray, looking for a master.
Looks like she found a bad master not too long ago.
I hit the intercom button. “What do
you want?”
“I need to hide. Can I stay there for
a while?”
I rolled my eyes. Why were freaks
either hot or cold around normal people?
Either they hate us with a purple passion or they like us and want us
to keep them around. Okay, there were a lot who just wanted to see us
corrupted, somehow that would make their pain feel better. No, it
wouldn't.
“I'm busy.”
“I
know your alone!” she said quickly. Alone, is that a crime or
something. She also knew I wouldn't be out there at the bizarre
bazaar.
“Listen,
what I do and especially don't do, is my own business.” I tell her,
but she just bangs on the door and says “He's going to kill me.
Please help.”
I
hated myself but I unlocked the door and she came inside and I locked
it again. She went and sat on the bed and put her face in her hands.
She was crying. I could see she had several earrings on each ear and
a small video tat on a shoulder.
“How
did you end up involved in a place like this?”
I asked
She
looked confused by the question, or maybe because there was a
question.
“Isn't
this all there is? I
thought the whole world was like this.” she answered. “My name is
Mija, by the way.”
A
common answer. They just didn't know anything else existed, people
like me were the freaks, we shouldn't exist. Of course it was people
like me who paid the bills, kept the economy moving, grew the food,
researched, created, invented. We did that for a long time, too long.
We knew they hated us but we thought we were safe while they depended
on us.
So
did the 9% of Venebabwe that was European before they were killed and
sometimes eaten as the 3rd world countries dropped back into
uncivilized
barbarism. Sure, those pale faces had been growing most of their food
and keeping the government funded, but when the crap hit the fan, it
was cannibal time.
You
see, that was all they knew. It just was.
She
looked well enough to carry extra provisions to the ship, her bruises
wouldn't prevent her from carrying a backpack. I could take her with
me to the ship, if she didn't want to leave I wouldn't care.
“Listen
Mija. I could use some help carrying things across town. I could even
pay you for carrying some of it.” I tell her, she looked at the
door. “If that guy tries to hurt you, I'll shoot him.”
I
pull out ten thousand-Global notes and hand them to her. She takes
them and looks at them closely, for a second I wonder where she would
put them. Apparently she has a built-in pouch on the front of that
leather thong.
“Once
we get there I'll give you more.” I tell her. I was leaving, this
scrip meant nothing off this lousy world and it was worth less and
less on it. The economy was in shambles and getting worse by the day,
but the freaks didn't care. They just wanted to dance and sell their
bodies and souls to each other.
“If
we're going through NorLand, I want a gun too.” She says while I
was checking my Mag-shot, I pause and consider this. Then I pull out
the 9mm with 9-rounds and handed it to her. Again, I was sort of
curious where she would put it.
She
put it in a small net attached to one of the bags, this would be
carried in front. Since her right arm would be free to reach over and
grab it, I nod.
“I
know a little.” She said as I stood. We were both loaded down, but
she had several bags hanging off her shoulders and the backpack and
it looked a bit ridiculous with the way she was, or wasn't, dressed.
“Are
you sure you don't want to put some clothes on?”
I ask
“What's
wrong with this?” she
asked me in return. Then again, it was in the middle of the night and
we'd get to the ship before morning. Then she'd be on her own and she
could spend the money however she liked.
I
carry the Mag-shot and lean it on a shoulder. “Time to go.”
It
was the dead of night and that is when the freaks are in total
control of the streets. Drunk, high or whatever else they called it
these days, they were all over the place.
“Stay
close.” I tell Mija. Suddenly I wondered if she might just vanish
with my stuff, she could probably sell some of it, especially the
gun. Instead, though, she stayed closed to me and seemed alert,
looking all around as we walked.
“Yo,
how about a drink?” Some
woman, I assume, in blue spandex asked holding up a large pitcher of
something that could have been urine. We kept walking, don't make eye
contact was a good rule out in these parts. Vendies weren't the
really dangerous ones, just truly annoying.
For
the first few blocks I was a bit surprised to see a couple shops
still open. One was a fish & chips place with the old UK flag
hanging above the door. The other place was actually an outdoor place
under a tent, from the smell they were selling fish cake and other
thing on sticks. I could hear the K-pop rocking inside, as if they
wanted to block out what was happening outside.
We
were much faster than I thought possible. This was always a bad sign
in my experience. It usually meant some worse than normal terror was
waiting for you up ahead. Like when the birds stop singing in a
forest because you were too close to a bear or something. Maybe that
only happened in novels.
“How
far?” She asked, sounding tired. I mean, what did she misunderstand
about “across town” exactly?
Suddenly
we came to a pitch black intersection and nobody was in sight. The
sound of the freak revelers was muffled and far away.
“We
have to go back!” Mija said.
“Yes,
we do.” I answered, but it was too late. Behind us several hulking
men with neon flat-top haircut sporting piercings all over and
carrying weapons were closing in. One of them dragged an ax behind
him, causing sparks.
I
pulled Mija toward the center of the intersection. My instinct was
correct, we were surrounded on all four sides by these thugs. A light
came on from somewhere and illuminated several of the hulking guys
and one tall but thin man. He had slicked back but thinning blond
hair and he wore a purple trench-coat.
“Look
what we have on the menu tonight.” He said, his clean white teeth
had been sharpened to points.
Then
the expression on his face changed and he smiled. “Mija. Is that
you?”
She
stiffened. “Hey, Rodrigo.”
“Does
this guy have any idea what he's messing with?” The man asked, she
looked down and to the right.
“It's
pretty obvious, actually.” I answered. “We're going on a trip.”
The
man laughed like a ninnying goat. “Oh, you are definitely going
somewhere.”
I
dropped the bags I was carrying, my hands already lifting the
Mag-shot. I see eyes going wide and then grins.
“You
are very outnumbered.” Rodrigo says.
“I
can take most of you with me, then. Who wants to volunteer?”
Rodrigo
laughed again. “Got eyes in the back of your head? You are
completely surrounded.”
I
hear Mija drop her burden and the safety clicking off the handgun I
had given her. “I''ll cover this side.” She announced.
“Looks
like Mija doesn't want to play with us tonight.” Rodrigo said.
“I
know what you are, Rodrigo, and I am never going there again.” She
said calmly.
Everyone
calls them Specs. Not sure where that nickname came from but I assume
it was because they had all worn sunglasses as part of their uniform
once upon a time. You weren't too scary if you were blind most of the
time, in the dark wearing sunglasses. The scary parts came after they
dropped the shades.
These
people believed they were the modern day vampires. They were
cannibals who liked to trap their victims, beat them up and then take
them for a home-cooked meal. They stayed in the shadows, instead of
attacking the groups and crowds that gathered every night, they
preyed on those who strayed.
The
Mag-shot is a formidable weapon. It carried fourteen “rounds”,
but each round was a box of twenty-four small caliber bullets. It
fired them all at the same time, ejected the box and moved another
into place with the pull of a trigger.
Twenty-four
slugs, even small .22's, makes quite a mess of a human.
The
Specs backed up a bit. I picked up my bags with my left hand and
threw them over my shoulder as I aimed the Mag-shot with my right
arm. All I wanted to do was to get away from these insane people and
get to my ship. I wanted off this dying world.
Suddenly
Rodrigo pulls a shotgun from under his bright purple trench coat. I
point the Mag-shot at him, he had trouble with the strap getting in
his way, I fired. Rodrigo's body shuddered as twenty-four holes
formed, center mass was around his sternum. Whether all twenty-four
struck home is kind of immaterial, because he fell like a sack of
potatoes.
The
Specs screamed and hollered and ran in all kinds of directions as if
they had all gone haywire in the head at the same time. It reminded
me of monkey tribes on the old nature programs, I wanted to get away
before the poo was slung. I took advantage of the confusion to pull
Mija and run towards the original destination across town.
We
ran several minutes before I pulled her into an alley for a breather.
I suddenly felt her staring at me and I looked up. “What?”
“Everyone
knows me. I have a reputation. I can't live here now, they'll connect
me to Rodrigo.” She told me. “I don't know what to do.”
“You
can come with me. Like I told you before. To a world much better than
this one.” I told her, taking another breath. “You might have to
learn how to live like normal people, but it's better than being
here.”
The
blank look on her face told me she had no idea what I was calling
“normal”.
“Let's
just keep moving.” I said.
Eventually
we somehow arrived at the warehouse in the abandoned section of town.
Most of the warehouses and factories were home to derelicts and
homeless people. The one we came to was surrounded by a high fence
with absurd security precautions.
I
punched in the code at the gate and it swung open. We closed it
behind us and then there was a second code. It was the same as the
first but backward, if Carlos had told me the truth. I admit I was
surprised when it also opened. Inside the warehouse looked like it
was in good shape, but getting to the center meant going through a
maze of containers and large machines.
Then
we found what we were looking for. A Helix-class Jump ship. A short
range transport vessel with four seats. It was covered in dust but it
looked like it was all there and in working condition.
“A
spaceship.” Mija said. “Wow.”
“Yes,
these were built to take people to space stations and to the moon. We
have to go a lot farther than that, though.” I told her, “We have
to sneak through the chute.”
She
shook her head. “That sounds dangerous.”
I
nodded. “Staying here is worse.”
The
side of the cockpit slid open on command. We stow our luggage in the
two rear seats, belting them into place. Then I sat in the pilot seat
as she sat next to me.
“Will
it fly?” She asked, sounding excited.
I
was still activating the CPU. “I'm going to find that out soon
enough.”
After
a few minutes of fiddling with the computer I finally had the thing
up and running and everything was working. The top of the warehouse
above us opened up on command, although slowly and with loud creaking
noises.
The
engines whined as they spooled up. Mija was started to look a bit
scared.
“Hang
on, we're about to launch!” I tell her. She grabbed the rail above
her with her left hand and the one on the dash with her right.
I
release the Grav-lock and the ship moved straight up very quickly.
This is the speed that we entered space with.
“Oh
my!” Mija said, about a hundred times.
We
were in space. I charted a course for the only transfer station that
was still operating and with only a skeleton crew. Earth had very
little trade and tourism with the other human settled worlds, it had
very little to offer.
There
was a large transport ship waiting for the chute to be activated. It
looked like some sort of cruise ship with all of the transparent
blisters along the side. People must pay big bucks to take a cruise
through the Sol system seeing the pretty planets of our origin.
I
“parked” very close to the cruise ship. The computer connected to
that of the transfer station with some difficulty. Apparently the
software was a hundred updates behind the times.
“What's
that?” Mija asked, I look up to see the chute turning different
colors.
“Almost
time to go!” I tell her. I notice the slightest movement of the
cruise ship and then I punch the accelerator. Our tiny Helix would
barely register on the mass scale, which was good. Too much mass
passing through the chute at one time and goodbye Milky Way, we'd be
exiting in hundreds of different directions.
We
went through at the same time as the cruise ship. The impact on us
was more than it would be on the larger ship. By the time we woke up
the cruise vessel had moved at least a few parsecs. In front of us,
though, was a colonized blue-green world. One scan told me that this
was it, this was Proximus, home of one of the colonies I wanted to
live in.
“Mija.”
I said to her as she ogled the world we approached.
“Yes?”
she asked.
“Do
you think you could wear normal clothes and get rid of some of those
piercings? I think it'd be a good idea for us to fit in.” I say.
“Might want to wear a hood over that bald head.”
She
put her hands on the top of her head. “What's wrong with my head?”
I
laughed.
End.
-------------------------------------------------
New Arrivals (203-pages)
is 99 cents at Amazon
Brad Black, 12, and his friends must join the resistance when refugees, welcomed as fellow settlers, from another world decide to take over their colony.
