Chapter 4 Tessi
Radar finally gets decent rest, but it takes me running my hand down his back, breathing slowly, and acting like there’s nothing wrong to encourage him to calm down. But I can’t get the Myndrous off my mind.
The Nebs’ method of winning is with mass numbers. And that means lots of offspring fast. But palladium, last I remember, was not a metal they commonly used in their ships.
I’m not looking forward to flying back to the market now that I know the half-breeds are nearby. But I need to offload the palladium and a few other things so I can get my credits and feed Radar a decent meal.
My first deep breath after a night’s rest always makes him lift his head. He gets down from his bench and gives me a single lick on the face before walking to the hatch and wagging his tail.
I groan when my stiff body struggles to get me upright. My hurried escape down the hillside from Carielle beat my body to shit. Muscles complain when I make them move. Scrapes sting in my skin, ones I didn’t feel yesterday.
After checking our surroundings, I let Radar out to do his business, with my gun in my hand just in case.
Distant sounds of hoverengines make me look toward the valley.
Patrol ships float over the land like slow flying ravens.
I hope they’re looking for the Myndrous.
When Radar is done and back inside, I close up the hatch, repair the necessary thruster systems for the longer journey, and get us in the air.
I need to travel back to Halfhaven in order to hand off the palladium to Aphria. As we fly over the Earth, I remember how much I prefer being up high to being on the ground. I can see so much more. Radar seems to like it too, because he won’t stop looking out the window.
The dockyard near the market comes into view. I land us in a small slot at the far end of the complex from the gate. Radar jumps out and into the dust with me.
“Hopefully no one wants to steal a busted up pod,” I say to him. There’s no way to lock escape pods except by whoever is on the inside. As if he understands, he walks up, lifts his leg, and pees on the side of it.
“Thanks.” I roll my eyes. “You know we have to ride in that later, right?”
He trots up to me and gives me an open mouth pant like he wants congratulations.
Alright, whatever. I rest a hand on the pod one last time, in case it isn’t here when we get back, just so I can remember what it’s like to have owned something so big.
The office is a small building at the edge of town. I’ve never been inside because I’ve never owned anything flight capable. I only learned to fly thanks to my time at the military boarding school.
The door opens with a horrific squeal.
An older man sits behind the desk, watching something on a tablet. He pumps a fist to the sounds of people cheering. His expression when he sees me is one of slight disgust and concern. “Are you okay?”
“Fine.” I don’t tell him about the stinging cuts and throbbing bruises, the exhaustion that rattles my heart, or the grit in the toes of my worn out boots.
I don’t mention the Myndrous, the fact that most other scavengers are pirates that would strip me clean and leave me for dead.
Only my growling stomach betrays my silence.
“The pod in the back is mine. I’m just here for the market.”
“It’s fifteen credits an hour.”
“Is there any way I can work that off?”
He shakes his head and points to a sign on the desk. “Can’t give any poor soul a freebie. Shoddy work. Sometimes they share it around that people don’t have to pay. I can’t make exceptions. We learned our lesson the hard way.”
I collect my chip card from my chest pouch and pay for two hours, then sign the space rental form on his tablet.
“Can I give your dog a biscuit?” he asks.
I shake my head. “No. I can’t trust a stranger with my dog’s health. The biscuits could be old or poisoned. I can’t make exceptions.”
He nods sadly. “What a terrible world this has become. Trust was not an issue when we were younger. Isn’t that right, Marge?”
An older woman pokes her head out of a back office, a laundry basket on her hip. “I’m lucky I found you.”
“No one else wanted you,” he smirks.
She scoffs, throws a pair of socks at his head, and walks off.
“What do you think has changed?” I ask as I walk to the door, mostly curious if anyone sees anything salvageable about our world.
“We no longer think we need each other because of all the tech, so we don’t value human connection the way we once did. We used to team up based on complementary skill sets. That’s how we survived.
“Find your family and stick by them, and life will get better. Even when it’s shitty, you’ll endure because you’re together.”
I hold the door for Radar and have to agree with the man. My stress might be higher at times because I’m concerned for Radar, but I know he’s watching my back too.
We walk through the gates and into the market. Aphria’s place is my first stop. She’s got her medical supply booth set up outside her storefront on the Main Street.
We pass several other booths on the way to hers, some regular sellers, a few new ones.
A tall man in a cloak bumps into me. I push away from him on instinct and get an eerie vibe, something I can’t shake as I hurry away.
“What?” he asks. “I promise if you come with me, I’ll show you all the ways I can solve your problems.”
“No, thanks.”
He cups his crotch in front of everyone, and I put it together. He’s as bad as Falgus and Reji.
When Radar sees Aphria, he trots a little faster.
She’s a lithe woman with long white hair always held back by a barrette, who often smells like antiseptic and bleached cotton.
“Tessi!” She motions us into her shop and sends her teenage son out front to manage the booth. “Please, tell me you have what we need.”
I retrieve the crushed chunk of palladium from my bag and set it on the counter.
“Ooh. A good one this time.” She leans back and looks skyward like she’s thanking someone above her. “Mines have been producing less in recent years. Makes prices go up. I just can’t afford that.”
Of course she can’t. She runs an underground medical facility that saves lives but would be immediately shut down if the government found out about it. If the government can’t control it, then it’s not allowed to exist. At least, not in our cruddy little place of Halfhaven.
As she weighs the metal in the back, Radar sits down, facing the door, leaning against my leg, like he always does.
She pays me the same rate per gram as last time. Then reaches out and sets a hand over the credit chip before I can pick it up.
I frantically look around, waiting for someone to jump out and cart us off to jail.
It wouldn’t be the first time police have posed as merchants to hunt down those of us who either trade in illegal goods or who can track illegal goods.
Then they try to force us to work for them for free. I just didn’t expect it to be Aphria.
“Tessi. You can’t walk around in public with those claw marks on your shoulder.”
“What?”
She darts her eyes to my left shoulder. “What attacked you?”
“Myndrous.”
Her eyes widen for a barely visible second. “How many did you see?”
“Four. One chased me. Out by the towers of death.”
She glances outside, then pulls out a handful of medical supplies from under her counter. “Set your bag down.”
“I only do that when I sleep.”
Aphria frowns at me. “Then move the strap.”
I pull my backpack strap aside, and she promptly slides a hand inside my collar, cleaning gashes I didn’t know I had with solution that stings. After an injection of Madmyn medicine to keep me from getting Myndrous diseases, and a bandage, she motions that I can slide my strap back on.
“Thanks.”
“I know you’re protective of your things and your dog. And you’re probably running on adrenaline a lot. But you have to take better care of yourself.”
“You act like I’m not trying.”
“I know you are. But sometimes, doing the same thing is the exact reason we fail. You need to change your routine. This scavenging business is dangerous.”
I’m well aware.
Aphria’s jaw muscles flex. “I hate to do this to you, but I don’t ever want to see you again. Not because I don’t need you. My patients need the medical implants. But I can’t stand the idea of you dying for them. Let machines do it.”
I gasp. “This is the only thing I’m good at.”
“There are always other ways to use our skills, Tessi. Find another way.”
She hands Radar a treat bone. “I will miss you, sweet boy.” Aphria straightens. “But please don’t come back.”
“Aphria…”
“Get out while you still can.” She gazes away from us and at the door. “Trust me. This is not the life your parents would’ve wanted for you.”
“You knew them?”
“No. But I can tell you it’s not the life I want for my son. He won’t leave my side. I won’t leave my patients without care. But you don’t have to do this. Don’t stay just because it’s your default.”
I glance back at her as I hold the door for Radar. My main go-to buyer is now off the table. Which means, unless I can find another who will want high priced items, I’m on my last run. I can’t survive without her level of pay.
Packing my credits close to my body, I move on to sell other goods I have found. Small memory chips, engine wiring harnesses, igniters, fuel cell materials, and other fragments of higher quality metals.
I find a new buyer set up in the middle of the market. He sells home defense systems. But in the back of his booth, I see weapons’ parts in crates. He’s from a world where Nebs have invaded in great numbers.
He’s a refugee. And what he’s selling is technically legal.
But I know why he’s out here. He’s like Aphria, and many others, trying to build a way to survive without the government’s help because the government is busy fighting battles far away from home.
And stuffing their pockets with our credits.