No Light (11 page)

             
Sarah followed his example. The sweet tang of the sauce mingled with the salty fish on her tongue. She chewed thoroughly, running her tongue over her teeth long after she swallowed the bite.

             
"From your face, I assume you like it."

             
Sarah smiled sheepishly.

             
"No. I'm glad you like it. Work can be stressful. It's good to get a way and live a little."

             
Sarah returned his smile. "Yes. The Corridor wasn't exactly part of my life plan."

             
Luke paused mid-sip. He set his glass back down and licked his lips. "Right. I had meant to ask you about that."

             
Sarah sipped her wine and nodded for him to go ahead.

             
"I only know what I've been told by my superiors," he explained.

             
Sarah nodded.

             
"And it's my understanding, your twin brother was the one training for The Corridor."

             
Sarah set the glass down, before the liquid sloshed out onto the table.

             
"But he was in a house fire?"

             
"Yes."

             
"And now he is in a coma."

             
"Persistent coma. The doctors say it's from the smoke." She cleared her throat, glancing around.

             
"I'm sorry if I've made you uncomfortable," he said quietly.

             
"No, it's fine." Sarah waved off his apology. She looked down at the table, the food left on her plate a watery blur.

             
"I didn't mean to upset you. I didn't think," he continued. His fingertips touched the back of her hand and she twitched.

             
"I think I'm just tired. Would you mind if I..." She gestured toward the door vaguely.

             
"Of course not. No. I'm just sorry I-" He shook his head. "I didn't think..."

             
"It's fine. Thank you for dinner. It was really good." She stood hurriedly, pulling her coat toward her.

             
"I just wish the conversation had been better."

             
Sarah looked up at his self-depreciating tone. He gave her a wry grin.

             
"Good night."

             
He nodded. "Same to you, Sarah."

             
She strode toward the door, avoiding the eyes of the other patrons. Heat spread across her face. It built up until it burned the back of her eyes and squeezed her throat. The attendant at the door nodded politely, but she could feel his eyes staring at her curiously.

The door swung open to the outside and the strangled feeling eased.

              She paused on the front sidewalk, breathing deeply. The icy, night air stung her face, freezing the warm tear track on her cheek. She closed her eyes and sighed. The steady crunch of tires on the snow mixed with the sound of voices approaching the front of the restaurant.

             
She opened her eyes. The fog of her breath still hung in the air when the car passed. She turned away from the couple, as they passed her to reach the door. The gust of warm air from inside made her shiver.

             
She walked toward the street, unable to think past getting to her house. The rest was blur. Her boots sank into the brown snow in the gutter and she trudged to the edge of the tracks left by traffic. She waited for a gap between the slow moving vehicles.

             
"Sarah!"

             
She turned at the sound of Luke's voice. He waved at her from the edge of the street. His eyes moved to the traffic and then back to her.

             
"Do you want a ride home? I promise not to talk," he added with a small smile.

             
Sarah huffed in amusement. She nodded and retraced her steps to the sidewalk. Luke grasped her hand to help her onto the curb. She smiled her thanks.

             
"Alright. Well, I'm parked just at the end of the block." He started down the sidewalk.

             
Sarah frowned at his back. His hand stayed clasped around hers. It warmed her frozen fingers, but she twitched to tuck her hands into her pockets.

             
"Here we are." He gestured to a metallic gray, late model sedan.

             
Sarah's eyes widened. He turned to look at her and smiled at her reaction. "I know a guy, who knows a guy," he explained.

             
He pushed a button on his keychain and the car clicked. He opened the passenger door and stood back to allow her to pass him. Sarah's eyes widened in surprise, but she stepped into the car and let him close the door. The interior carried a fresh scent, almost as if the car had never been driven. She looked around.

             
Thin plastic mats covered the carpeting in the floorboards. A bright panel above the leather-wrapped gear shift showed a vague map of the city. She leaned forward to examine it, as the driver's side door popped open. She quickly sat back.

             
Luke slid into the seat and glanced at her. "What do you think?"

             
Sarah scanned the interior of the car again, her eyes drawn to the bright screen.

             
"It's GPS, but since maps of the city are rare outside of our borders, it only has the main street." He smiled.

             
"Then, why..."

             
He laughed at her unfinished question. "It also controls the stereo system and regular maintenance. Among other things."

             
"Oh." Sarah felt her face heat at his wide smile.

             
He seemed to take pity on her, and turned away to start the car.

             
"There's no key." Her eyes widened when the engine growled to life at the push of a button.

             
"Not for this model." He slanted her an amused look and slid the car into drive.

             
Sarah twisted her fingers together in her lap, looking out the front window when the car began to slid into traffic. Her toes curled inside her boots and she gripped the strap of her seatbelt.

             
"Don't worry, I'm a very good driver," Luke assured her, glancing in her direction once he moved into the flow of traffic.

             
Sarah swallowed hard. "I'm just used to walking. It's safer."

             
"That's a new one," Luke laughed. His eyes sparkled when he met her gaze.

             
She looked away to watch the shops pass by.

             
"You live on the north side, right?"

             
Sarah nodded. "Clark Street. A few blocks past the north edge of the square."

             
"Oh." His gaze flicked to her, then quickly away.

             
The traffic moved slowly, moving at a glacial pace, around the tighter corners of the town square. The amount of cars tapered off north of the square. Large, brick homes south of the square gave way to clapboard houses. The expansive lawns and paved driveways became a thin strip of space between the houses and on-street parking.

             
Luke's eyes swept the houses they passed. Sarah studied the side of his face, trying to make out his expression. He appeared almost pained. As if he felt her gaze, he turned his head to look at her.

             
"It's just up here on the right. The blue one," she said quietly.

             
He nodded and pulled next to the curb.

             
Sarah reached for the door handle, but his hand snaked out to touch her arm. She flinched, but did not pull away. She stared out the window at her house, unable to look at him.

             
"You forgot your seatbelt," he finally said.

             
She heard a soft click, then the pressure around her wrist released. She swallowed hard and nodded. "Thank you."

             
He let her go.

...

              The sound of the door broke the silence, as the morning shift came on. The humans hurried into Corridor One, their boots loud as they hustled past his cell to reach those further down.

             
"That's not what I heard," a man's voice called from just out of sight.

             
"Yeah, well then your source is shit."

             
"Bullshit! Keane ain't interested in that."

             
"You think he's not? Waste of time if you ask me. Girl like that," he scoffed. "Her parents probably just sell her ass for food vouchers."

             
Farran's eyes narrowed. He leaned forward to see two rough-looking morning handlers standing on either side of the door. They appeared focused on their argument, oblivious to the chained Dems being lead toward them.

             
"Not sure how many vouchers she'd give away, if you know what I mean. That ass is lily-white virgin, if I've ever seen it."

             
The man standing to the right of the door snorted. "You ain't never seen it!"

             
"The hell you say? I been with one before!"

             
The argument strayed away from the girl in question, digressing into a numbers contest. Farran shook his head in disgust. He looked down at a sharp sting in his hands. His palms pressed against the security shield hard enough to send pulses of warning pain into his skin. He snatched them back, balling his hands into fists. A cold chill ran down his spine and he looked up.

             
Tradis paused outside his cell. The human behind him ordered him to walk on, but the much larger Dem continued to stare at Farran. Farran ignored the obvious question and gave him a terse nod of acknowledgement. He watched his second walk away, trailed by the human, until he vanished from view.

             
"I ain't doing it," a familiar voice yelled.

             
"Well, it's your turn. I got that snarling bastard last time we worked this corridor."

             
Farran turned his head to look through the security shield at the same two handlers. He studied them, as they bickered.

             
"You liar! He damn near ripped my head off last time we was here. I remember cause I got this here scar."

             
Farran's lips curved into a dark smile as the shorter man jerked down the collar of his suit to reveal a fading scar.

             
"Yeah? Well, do you remember this shit?" His companion flipped greasy bangs off his face to show a rough patch in the skin of his forehead.

             
"It don't matter. Fair is fair." He thrust a basic restraint chain into the visibly shaking hands of the other handler.

             
Farran sneered, as the blood visibly drained from the man's face. His eyes followed the man's progress across the front of his cell. His smile widened when the security shield dropped.

             
"Together?" the human squeaked to his companion.

             
"Like hell."

             
Farran crossed his arms. He leaned casually against the cell wall, as he gave the handler a shark smile. Visibly shaking, the human dropped the sound and dark shields. His eyes went comically wide when he saw Farran.

             
"Oh shit!"

             
Farran watched him grip the restraints like a lifeline. He slowly opened the cell door as if he were going to his death. Farran stayed perfectly still, just watching the human approach him. When he came within reach, he took a large step forward and wrapped his hand around his neck.

             
The man let out a surprised squawk. It changed to an alarmed gurgle when Farran lifted him off his feet and slammed him into the cell wall. His heels kicked against the stone, as his hands frantically scrambled against Farran's grip.

             
"Hey!"

             
Farran saw the other handler leap forward, his hand on the stunner at his hip. He turned his head to glare at him. The man froze, his eyes moved back and forth between Farran and the struggling human. Farran saw the moment the handler relented. He dropped his head and walked backwards until he passed the threshold of Farran's cell.