Introduction by Jernard
December 6th, 2300; 4:23 A.M.
Chicago, Illinois
“Hey,”
Keith Fynn said as he opened his townhouse’s front door. “Do you want to come
inside and warm up a minute? Katie’s still trying to decide on some last-minute
things, but we have the essentials packed.”
I
hesitated, looking around at the snow-covered sidewalks and listening for
anything suspicious. Other than the early morning traffic, the neighborhood seemed
peaceful. With the way things had been going, this meant nothing. We didn’t
have a lot of time.
“Maybe
I can help.” I stepped inside but didn’t shut the door behind me. “If she’s
debating about which toys to take with her, there’s enough room in the trunk
for—“
I
stopped, startled by what I saw. Their entire living room was a wreck—all the
furniture overturned and wall hangings scattered across the floor. Keith’s
stereo system was busted into shards, and the room’s two inlaid monitors had
cracks in their screens as if they’d been hit with a baseball bat.
“I
take it you did your own redecorating?” I asked, noticing the broad smile on
his face. “Clever idea, but I still have one question.”
His
smile faded as I walked over to the couch, shaking glass free from a broken
picture frame and taking out a wedding photo of him and his wife Kimberly.
“I
don’t want to talk about it right now,” he said. “Not in front of Katie.”
“Keith,
if she doesn’t come with us now, I can’t guarantee—“ I started, but just then
Katie came around the corner.
“Hi!”
she said, holding a pink duffel bag in one hand and a fluffy yellow stuffed
animal in the other. “I’m ready now.”
I
couldn’t help but smile just at the sight of her. About an inch of her own thick
black hair was sticking out all over her head, and she looked alert and healthy
compared to the last time I’d seen her.
“She’s
been in remission for almost a month now—no complications,” Keith said as I
crouched down to where I was eye-level with her. “I can’t wait to thank the
rest of your medical team in person.”
“Do
you remember me, Katie?” I asked. She
pointed a finger toward my eyes—almost poking me in the eye in the process. “Sorry,
but I don’t have an on/off switch for those. Who’s your friend?”
She
held up the stuffed animal again, and an involuntary shudder rippled through me
because it had eight legs.
“It’s
Spivey!” She was appalled I didn’t already know but started singing. “Spivey
the Spider eats all kinds of bugs. Spivey the Spider gives you lots of—hugs and
kisses!”
She
shoved the thing toward my face, and part of my brain started to track its
plastic eyes as if it was a legitimate threat. I leaned back and caught myself
on my fingertips, making sure I was calm before I moved again.
“Oh,
that’s very nice.” I jumped to my feet and backed away from her. “Spivey can
ride in the trunk where there are a lot of bugs for him to eat.”
She
frowned, and when I turned around Keith was giving me a strange look.
“Let
me get this straight,” he said, trying to hold back from laughing but not doing
a good job of it. “You can go against an entire army of reptilian monsters
without a trace of fear, but you’re terrified of stuffed animals? You do realize
it isn’t real, right?”
“Keith,
I don’t like spi—“ I started to say, but Katie was now staring at me with a
hurt expression. “Spies—I don’t like spies, so we need to get out of here. What
can I carry?”
“I
think we’re good if you could just get the door,” Keith replied, slinging a
large duffel bag over his shoulder and grabbing Katie’s booster seat. “You want
me to drive? You look kind of tired.”
I
held the door open as he exited and kept watch on Katie as she followed behind
him.
“I
was in a coma for over a week, Keith. If I could be any more rested, I’d be
dead.”
He
nodded but smiled again.
“All
right. I just figured if you were asleep that you wouldn’t have to worry
about…”
He
started humming Spivey’s theme song, and I rolled my eyes.
“I
used to believe it was odd that a nice person like you could have so many
enemies,” I said, reaching into my jacket pocket and tossing him my car keys. “Now
I don’t wonder so much.”
“I
inherited most of my enemies,” he replied, opening the back passenger door and
leaning inside to install the booster seat. “If it wasn’t for—“
I
heard the loud click come from a rooftop across from us, and I pushed both
Keith and Katie down to the sidewalk just as the shot hit the back glass of the
car. Katie shrieked, and Keith had to hold on to her as she started to reach
for the stuffed spider—which was now a foot beyond what little protection we
had with the car.
“They’ll
shoot him, Daddy!” Katie cried in frustration, trying to squirm out of Keith’s
grip as if it was her best friend in danger. “I—“
“Look,
I’ll save him,” I interrupted, worried she’d break free. “Just stay with your
dad.”
I
took a deep breath as I crawled under the car then grabbed for Spivey’s closest
leg—pulling my hand away just before the second shot almost hit it. I managed
to grab it while the sniper reloaded for a third try.
“EIP?”
Keith asked, but I shook my head.
“I
don’t think so,” I replied, handing him the toy. “I hate to say this, but they
tend to be better shots. I don’t know—“
Just
then I heard the crack of someone being punched, and a man groaned.
“I
got him, Jernard!” Wynn shouted from a rooftop, and I rose up enough to see him
break the man’s rifle apart. “Hang on—I’ll be down in a minute!”
Instead
of taking the stairs, he opted to climb down the building’s exterior—something
I would’ve done at his age but that made me uneasy watching him do. I kept
glancing around until he reached us, thankful that the sniper had been alone.
“Are
you all right?” I asked Keith, noticing his grip on Katie was now almost as
tight as her grip on Spivey. “Come on. We’ll take your truck until we can
switch to something else.”
Keith’s
new truck was a quad-cab and bright red—problematic because it stood out. The
four of us hurried and piled into it, Keith and me taking the front while Wynn
figured out Katie’s seat on the way.
“Why
did you risk doing that?” Wynn asked me in Hannarian not long after we were on
the road and settled. “It was just a toy.”
“It
isn’t to her,” I replied then turned around in my seat to face him. “Now if
it’d been real, I’d have shot it myself. I—”
“For
what it’s worth, thank you,” Keith interrupted, taking his eyes off the road to
look at me. “It’s good to have friends—even if they’re not human. I just wish
Kim could understand that.”
“She
doesn’t like Spivey either?” I asked, but he shook his head like he wasn’t in a
joking mood. “Look, if Kim has a problem with us, just let me explain
everything. I don’t want anything bad to happen to her just because—“
“She
won’t be coming with us no matter what you say,” he interrupted, and I decided
to drop the issue until I could talk to him alone. “Where are we heading?”
I
found his truck’s GPS and programmed Olemdi’s
location. It was stationary since Fost knew we were on our way.
“We
need your help with something, but only if you want to do it,” I replied. “Would
you be up for it?”
“To
stop these people?” he asked as he pressed on the gas pedal. “Anything.”
Purchase Links:
No comments:
Post a Comment