The Imaginary Woman Supplants Us All in The Long Run
Alana veered the lorry left. Hard.
“What are you doing?” Reaching for the strap on the ceiling, Kerr found her arms were too short, yet again. She braced herself against the dashboard instead.
“It won’t be long before they realise those two are dead. I expect there’s a tracker on here somewhere too.” Alana took another left, accelerating into the turn. “Probably multiple.”
“So, we’re leading them right to where we are?” Bile rose in Kerr’s chest.
“This was your plan, not mine.”
“What would you have done?” Kerr braced herself. The lorry hit a massive pothole and the rest of the street didn’t look any more promising.
“The same thing. But now, I can blame you for it.” Alana didn’t smile to indicate that it was a jest, but Kerr grinned back anyway.
Don’t get cocky. This doesn’t mean I like you.”
“Lusa likes me.” Kerr’s grin persisted.
Alana grunted and refused to look at her.
“What’s your problem with Lusa? Why come here if you hate her so much?” Kerr dug her fingers into the seat.
“I’m here for Pinga.” Alana’s overly harsh tone said that she knew that wasn’t true. “You’d understand if you were a mother.”
“That’s not going to happen,” Kerr scoffed. “I’m twenty-eight.”
“To you maybe,” Alana muttered so low that she hadn’t counted on Kerr’s aural processors picking it up.
“What? What’s that supposed to mean?” Kerr raised an eyebrow. Alana kept her eyes fixed on the road, but Kerr refused to look away.
“Lusa hurts people.” Alana avoided the question.
Kerr waited for Alana to elaborate, but she didn’t. “You told me that already. And I know. Lusa already told me what she did to Danica. She doesn’t mean to.”
“You think that matters?” Alana sighed, exhausted at Kerr’s lack of comprehension. “She’s also cold and distant. She acts like she’s better than everyone else. The other kids avoid her for a reason.”
“Kids? She’s twenty-six.” Kerr curled her lip. “Did you ever think that maybe they avoid her because you all treat her like she’s some monster?”
“Shut the fuck up and act like an adult.” Alana took her eyes off the road to flash a quick glare. “You can’t possibly think you know anything about Lusa because you spent two days fucking. Check your hormone regulator. She’ll be gone as soon as we get Pinga.”
Kerr lowered her eyes to the seat cushion and picked at it. Alana wasn’t wrong. Kerr scolded herself for overstepping again. Still. She didn’t have to be so mean about it. She could have let Kerr play out her fantasy of finding someone who was kind and thoughtful and absolutely stunning and…
“If you’re lucky, you’ll never see her or us after this.
” Alana slowed the lorry, interrupting her thoughts.
Abandoned wrecks and debris littered the path ahead.
Rubble partially blocked a forgotten delivery door, but upon careful inspection, you could tell that it had been opened recently.
The dirt and grease around the hinges had been worn away and a slight scuff along the jamb showed where the roll-up door had scraped.
It opened as they approached. Someone watched them. Alana carefully navigated the lorry over the broken hunks of concrete and rebar, hoping that any damage to the undercarriage would be minor enough not to cause an immediate breakdown. As soon as they cleared the door, it shut behind them.
The hum of the engine reverberated off of the Hexaline walls, the sweet smell of burning ethanol building up in the enclosed space. The corridor took a sharp right up ahead that Alana was certain she wouldn’t be able to make. The lorry was too big to round a corner that tight.
But a line of light appeared and the wall ahead split. A blast of condensation fogged the windscreen and Alana had to turn on the wiper blades to see anything. Working overtime, the wipers revealed the source of the steam. A black metal tower and Lusa standing next to it in her underclothes.
Insecurities melting away, Kerr hopped out of the cab and leapt into her arms. “Why are you half-naked?”
“You would prefer me fully naked?” Lusa held tightly, like she could be torn away at any moment. Kerr tucked the black hair stuck to her skin behind her ear. She’d never seen a face so beautiful.
“I most definitely would.” Kerr giggled like a drunkard. She had tried – really tried not to fall this hard. But if such a brief absence had her feeling like this at her age, there must be something here. Something that could live, despite the looming end date.
“Oh my god, stop,” Alana groaned. “Let’s get this thing out and then get Pinga.”
Lusa set Kerr down and she reluctantly returned to the lorry.
“The spanner is in the glovebox. Use it to decouple the transport bolts.” Alana ordered, keeping her eyes on Lusa. “Why are you half-naked?” Kerr disappeared into the cab, but kept her aural processors tuned.
Lusa slicked the rest of her hair back, refusing to answer. Alana didn’t budge. Finally, Lusa sighed. “It’s at least forty degrees in here. Would it kill you to stop being an arsehole to me for once?”
“Thirty-seven, according to my Opti. And you want to have this conversation now?” Alana checked to see if Kerr was listening. She was, but she ducked behind the door.
“I never wanted to have this conversation at all. But for some reason you all hate me. I fucked up once. And I’ve been paying for it ever since.
I’m the one making sure traders don’t kidnap your daughters.
I’m the one sent after them when they do.
I’m the one who’s here, right now, constantly cleaning up after everyone else. ”
“Nobody cares about that.”
“Obviously,” Lusa muttered.
“Look.” Alana’s tone softened slightly, but she kept her posture rigid. “You’re dangerous. And I can’t explain what having a child does to you. All of us see it – your violent streak. It’s like you crave it. You need someone to fight. Like your mom.”
Even Kerr knew which mum Alana was talking about.
“But you don’t avoid her,” Lusa said. “You don’t treat her like you treat me.”
“Because we know Sesi and Callie have Talia under control. No-one has you under control, Lusa.”
Kerr threw the spanner on the floor so it sounded like she was busy while she snuck a glance. Lusa was looking anywhere but Alana.
“I’m sorry.” But Alana’s voice still carried an edge. “We probably shouldn’t have been so… whatever. But you’re still you. You can’t change that. I can’t change that.”
“So, you’re all happy I’m around when it comes to going after my idiot sister, even though she stole a transport and put the whole Lake in danger, but you can’t let go of one incident that happened years ago?
” Lusa wiped at her face. Kerr couldn’t tell whether it was tears or humidity.
She wanted to rush over and hold her tight, but that would give her away.
Alana’s shoulders fell. For a moment, Kerr thought she might be sympathetic to Lusa’s predicament, but she steeled herself and left to check on Kerr’s progress. Kerr scrambled to busy herself uncoupling the DocPod.
Alana poked her head into the back of the lorry. Bolts lay scattered about and Kerr had removed her top in the heat, making her look even smaller.
“Help me lift this out.” Kerr squeezed behind the machine. Together they carried it and set it down in front of the black tower. Smiling salaciously at Lusa, Kerr hoped she was impressed by her feat of strength.
The terminal blinked to life before Lusa could respond.
MODEL 2: STYX ARE COMING. THEY WILL ARRIVE AT THE TRANSPORT DOOR IN SEVEN MINUTES.
“Styx are on their way,” Lusa relayed.
“How many?” Kerr wriggled back into her top. The terminal flashed again.
MODEL 2: TWELVE.
Lusa narrowed her eyes. “You can hear us? Why did you make me type?”
MODEL 2: I FOUND IT ENTERTAINING.
“Fuck you.” Lusa held up a middle finger and waved it around.
MODEL 2: LATER.
MODEL 2: LUSA STAYS. KERR AND ALANA HOLD THEM OFF. THEY WILL FOLLOW THE TRACKER AND ENTER VIA THE TRANSPORT CORRIDOR. POSITION KERR NEAR THE EXIT AND ALANA NEAR THE HALLWAY FOR AMBUSH.
MODEL 2: I CAN SCRAMBLE BIOSIG TRACKERS. THIS WILL AFFECT YOUR WEAPONS, BUT YOU WILL HAVE THE ADVANTAGE.
Lusa repeated the instructions. Alana raised an eyebrow and then grabbed Kerr by the wrist.
“Hey!” Kerr protested.
“In the lorry.” Alana released her and hopped into the cab, turning over the engine and backing out of the Ruskov Chamber. “We’ll use it for cover.” Alana cranked the wheel and hit the wall, wedging the vehicle in the corridor. “Stay behind the tyres.”
Kerr did as she was told and crouched, drawing Tybalt.
“Do you know how to disable the SmartChip on your gun?”
Kerr sneered. “I’m a Charger. I know more about breaking and putting guns back together than a Styx ever could, yeah?”
Alana held up her hands. “Calm your tits. Chargers were barely functional back in my day.” She pulled the chip out of her rifle and placed it neatly in the pocket of her BulitWeave flak jacket. She paused, as if considering something and then held out two cylinders.
Kerr looked at them blankly. “What are those?”
“I thought you were a Charger. A tech wizard or some shit.” Twisting knives pleased Alana a little too much. “I forgot, you only use busted last gen garbage.”
“Why are you being a dick?” Kerr didn’t reach out to take the strange objects.
Alana thrust them into her chest anyway.
Something seemed to have changed in her that Kerr didn’t fully grasp.
Battle camaraderie, perhaps? “Have you never been someone’s girlfriend before?
” Alana turned away, like she was embarrassed about her behaviour.
“Dealing with their family’s bullshit is part of the package. ”
Heat crept up her neck. She should correct Alana for using the word girlfriend. That was twice now, but she didn’t want to. “None of them have had families.” She could twist the knife back.
Alana changed the subject. “Talia made them. Lusa’s mom. They’re repeater ‘nades. They cause enough interference to the open port on strength amplifiers.” Alana inspected the ‘nade. “They used to completely take you down, but secrets only stay secret for so long.”
“Like doorstoppers, yeah?” Kerr took the ‘nades and tucked them into her belt. “What do they do now?”
“Doorstoppers run a broad spectrum of AI gremlins. It might take them out if their firmware is out of date, but most likely, their hardware will get a lot heavier.”
“And they won’t be able to aim.” Kerr’s face lit up. Even more once she saw Alana’s approving look. “Why are we here?”
The approval was short-lived. “Because any moment, there are going to be a dozen Styx pouring through those doors.” Alana looked at her like she was trying to decide whether Kerr was naturally slow. “Are your aural processors fried?”
“No, I mean, behind the lorry.” Kerr tapped the filthy tyre. “Model 2 said I should be near the doors, yeah?”
Alana shook her head. “How have you survived this long?”
Kerr wanted to take offence, but Alana was being nice to her all of a sudden, so she held up Tybalt, showing it off and flashing her most badass smirk.
Alana seemed unimpressed. “Honey, Model 2 is trying to kill you.”