One Awake In All The World-4
935 Words
Candle thought it was a good thing that Luma became obsessed with pestering Stiletto to continue her story. The Skilla were growing bolder, and he was glad the little girl’s mind was on something else.
Again and again, the creatures raced close and bolted away. They dropped stones and bones and shingles from above, littering the route with debris.
And their numbers, according to the flash-brain, continued to grow. Candle wondered how many more of the creatures would join the pack over the kilometer and a half that he, Stiletto, and Luma had yet to walk. He wondered what other surprises the Skilla would spring.
Unfortunately, he didn’t have to wait long for the next one. It happened just as Stiletto was about to continue her story.
“All right,” she said, finally giving in to Luma’s repeated requests to know what happened next. “I’ll tell you a little more.”
Luma’s skin was pale green, which Candle knew by now meant the child felt at ease. “Tell me!” she said.
Before Stiletto could get out a word, the rocks started flying.
Candle felt something strike his arm with a stinging impact. As he whipped around, he felt another solid object collide with his kneecap.
A shower of rocks followed, hurtling straight toward him from out of the fog.
Candle opened fire with the warflower, punching the searing beam through the murk. “Get down!”
Behind him, he heard the whine of Stiletto’s warflower firing at the same time as his, lashing out at the other side of the street.
Another volley of rocks leaped out of the fog from a different spot. Candle spun and fired there, too, then combed the beam along the street to pick off any additional ambushers lying in wait.
The bombardment ended, giving way to a deafening chorus of shrieks and screams from all directions.
“Everybody all right?” said Candle.
Even as he said it, he could see the answer to his question.
Luma was sprawled on the pavement, eyes closed. Her skin was white as a bedsheet except for a blazing red welt above her left eye.
* * * *
“How is she?” said Candle, standing guard while Stiletto scanned Luma’s head with her fingertip sensor pads.
“Lots of swelling in there,” said Stiletto. “She might have a concussion.”
“Can we treat her?”
Stiletto removed the first aid kit from a hip pocket of her black flowsuit. “Just the surface wound,” she said, yanking a tubular spray applicator from the kit. “The deep swelling’s another matter.” Stiletto ran the tip of the applicator over the welt on Luma’s forehead, administering a spray of antiseptic, anesthetic, and anti-inflammatory agents. “Her body’s different from anything I’ve worked on before. Trying to treat the internal injury could do more harm than good.”
“Should we keep her awake in case there’s a concussion?” said Candle.
“Damned if I know. If she was human, I’d say definitely.”
“Let’s risk it, then,” said Candle. “If we can wake her up.”
“Roger that,” said Stiletto, brushing a strand of blond hair out of her face.
The Skilla continued to howl and scream-laugh as Candle bent down by Luma’s right ear. “Luma,” he said. “Wake up. It’s time to wake up.”
Luma didn’t twitch.
“Please, Luma,” said Candle, raising his voice. “We need you to wake up.”
Still nothing.
Stiletto leaned close to Luma’s left ear. “Do you want to know what happened next?” she said.
Finally, Luma stirred. Her snow-white skin fluxed pink, then shifted to pale orange.
And her red, faceted eyes flickered open.
“Yes,” she said softly. “Please tell me.”
* * * *
As the Skilla kept circling and raising a ruckus, Candle and Stiletto continued toward the source of the mechanical vibrations.
Stiletto carried Luma in her arms and told her more about the little girl with the invisible friend...in other words, the story of Stiletto herself and the Squatter who had made her a Wipeout. Luma’s skin shifted from pale orange to deep green, a change that Stiletto took as a good sign.
Stiletto told Luma how the little girl’s invisible friend had played tricks on her and gotten her to play tricks on other people. (She didn’t mention the fact that the “tricks” consisted of bloody killing sprees that claimed the lives of her own family and countless strangers.) Though the tricks the girl played were mean, Stiletto said, the invisible friend fooled her into thinking they were fun.
When Stiletto got to the part where the policeman showed up, Candle interrupted.
“What’s our status?” he said.
Stiletto scanned their surroundings with her left-fingertip sensor pads. “Same as before.”
Candle sighed. “How long till dawn?”
“About an hour,” said Stiletto. “You thinking they’re anti-daylight?”
“Hoping,” said Candle. He looked at Luma. “What’s the word on you-know-who?”
“Swelling’s worse,” said Stiletto.
“Let’s hope those vibrations lead us to a doctor,” said Candle.
Stiletto smirked. “What a day, huh?”
“Easy-peasy.” Right after Candle said it, he winked one dark brown eye and gave Stiletto’s shoulder a squeeze.
As his fingers pressed and released, Stiletto felt her face warm with a blush.
* * * *
Candle was surprised, a little later, when Luma asked him to tell her a story.
She probably just wanted him to kill time while Stiletto took a break...but he figured he’d give it a shot. Anything to keep Luma awake, especially since she’d been yawning more and more often lately.
“Okay,” said Candle. “Let’s see.” He thought for a moment, scrubbing his fingers through his wavy, salt-and-pepper hair. “I know,” he said at last. “Have you heard the story of the lonely policeman?”
“No,” said Luma, shaking her head. “Please tell me.”
Candle cleared his throat. He’d decided to pick up Stiletto’s story where she’d left off, but from his point of view.
“Once upon a time,” he said, pacing the floor, “there was a lonely policeman. He was always busy, because these mean invisible friends kept making people play tricks on each other.”
Luma yawned and rubbed her eyes. “You mean like the lonely little girl?”
“Yeah,” said Candle. “As a matter of fact, he went to see that little girl one time. He said, ‘Don’t listen to your invisible friend, little girl. He’s not nice.’”
“What did the girl say?”
Candle thought he’d skip over the part about Stiletto trying to kill him while under the Squatter’s control. “To be continued,” he said. “I’ll tell you later.”
- Writer
