Outer Bounds: Fortune's Rising (11 page)

Looking up, she saw the blackened roof of a burned-out government soldier
hangar looming in her windshield before she hit.

Chapter
7

A
Friend for Anna

Magali stopped at the edge of the
razor-wire and peered at the lush green landscape beyond.  Bright sundrop
plants exploded with spring colors, the heavy pink and red bulbs drooping to near
ground-level with nectar.  A Fortune tortoise contentedly clamped its sharp
beak around the base of each bulb and cut it from the hard, sticky stem.  Its
shell inched this way and that as it sometimes had to tug on the tougher ones
to free them.

Magali smiled, remembering
catching them as a child, and then again more recently, to show to her
especially bright baby sister.

…her especially bright baby
sister that had laughed when her grip slipped and the thing bit off her
finger.  Anna had seemed delighted when Magali screamed and they had to get the
surgeon to sew it back on.  Back then, she’d thought Anna was just confused,
that she just didn’t understand, but now…

“Back away from the fence!” a
harsh female voice shouted from above.

Magali had the insane urge to
climb over the wire, cutting her hands and wrists and belly to shreds, leaving
the camp, the Shriekers, and her sister all behind—one way or another.

“
Now!
”  She heard the
distinctive sound of a rifle being tugged off a shoulder.  She didn’t have to
look to know it was pointed at her.

I want to go home,
she
thought.  Slowly, she forced herself to turn away from the wire.  She didn’t
look at the woman and her gun.  She merely trudged back to the tent, exhausted
to the core.

Magali was standing by her cot,
peeling off her slime-crusted overhauls, when a pudgy young girl knocked on the
aluminum frame of the open door.

“Hello?” the child asked,
squinting tentatively into the room.  Her black curls jiggled against puffy
freckled cheeks as she glanced around the hut.  “Anyone here?”

Magali paused in pulling a fresh
shirt over her head and moved out of the shadows in the corner.  “Yeah?”

The kid gave a nervous blush. 
“I’m new.  They told me I was supposed to live here.”

Magali looked the girl up and
down, then sighed.  “We only got three beds, and they’re all full.”

“Oh, I think they moved the other
lady out,” the kid said.  “The Director said there was another girl my age
here.  Thought we could be friends.”

That’ll be the day.
 
Magali laughed, despite herself.  “Just save yourself the trouble and leave
now.  Anna doesn’t make friends.”

“She doesn’t?” the girl asked,
blinking.  Her brown eyes were pretty.  Hazel.  Though they seemed a bit flat,
almost like the kid wasn’t too bright.  “Why not?”

“She just doesn’t,” Magali said. 
“She’s mean as hell.  She’ll only hurt your feelings.”

Instead of leaving, the girl
stepped inside and looked around.  “Is she here?”

“No,” Magali said.  “And I’m
serious.  She’ll just make you cry.  Go tell the Director to put you somewhere
else.  You don’t want to sleep here.”

The girl glanced at her, a
quizzical look in her hazel eyes.  “So she likes to insult people?”

“Oh yeah,” Magali chuckled.  She
tugged her shirt over her head.  “Oh yeah.”

“But not you?” the girl asked.

Magali sighed and slumped into
the hut’s only chair.  “What’s your name?”

“Molly.”

“Listen, Molly, just take my word
for it.  Anna’s not—”  She bit off her words as she saw her sister’s shape
appear in the doorframe.

“Anna’s not what?” Anna asked,
her face darkening further.  She threw her stack of clean clothes upon her bed,
glowering at Magali, still sulking from the conversation with Joel.

“Anna, meet Molly.”  Magali waved
a tired hand at the youngster, figuring that if her own warnings wouldn’t scare
her off, the Real McCoy would do the trick.  “Molly wants to be your friend.”

Anna looked the newcomer up and
down and sneered.  “What happened to the little piglet?  Some governor’s wife
fatten her up before she dumped her off for slaughter in the Shrieker mounds?”

Magali sighed.  “Thanks, Anna. 
You just proved my point perfectly.”

“Actually,” the little girl said,
“I’ve got a thyroid condition.”

“Yeah, if that’s what they call
stuffing yourself until you jiggle.”  Anna yawned and glanced at Magali.  “We
got any crackers or anything?  Maybe the little piggy’s hungry.”

“I just ate,” Molly said.  She
glanced at Magali.  “Is she always that rude?”

A little surprised that the girl
wasn’t barreling from the hut in tears, Magali nodded.  “Yeah.  Always.”

Anna’s scowl had deepened and she
was peering at Molly like she’d grown mandibles and antennae.  “We don’t want
you here, butterball.  Get out.”

“Is this where I’m supposed to
sleep?”  Molly moved deeper into the room and sat down on Anna’s cot.  She
smiled at Anna, who had gone purple upon seeing Molly place her butt upon her
stretch of canvas.  She began rifling through Anna’s tiny pile of
belongings—mag-cards, memchips, a handheld r-player.  A frown dimpling her
freckled brow, she held one of them up.  “Ghani Klyde?  The phil-o soffer?”

“Gimme that!” Anna snapped,
jerking it out of the little girl’s hand and gathering up the rest of her
cards.  “You’ll corrupt his greatness with your ignorance.”  She kicked the
bottom of the cot.  “Get your fat ass off my bed.  Find your own.”

“Okay,” Molly said.  She stood
and moved to the other side of the room, where the quiet Aquafer lady had
slept. 

Anna watched her go, her face
growing darker.

She’s not getting a rise out
of Molly,
Magali realized, leaning forward curiously. 
And it bugs the shit
out of her.

For a long moment, the hut was
silent as Molly started picking through the Aquafer’s stuff, setting it aside
in a neat pile, humming.

“What’s wrong with you?” Anna
demanded finally.

Maybe she’s not a sociopath,
Magali thought, gleeful, but didn’t say it.  She leaned back, enjoying her
sister’s frustration.

“I’ve got a thyroid condition,”
Molly said cheerily.  Her eyes caught on Anna’s face, which was now darkening
with bruises.  She touched her own cheek to indicate the enormous black bruise
spreading across Anna’s cheekbone from Gayle Hunter’s attack earlier that day. 
“What happened to your face?”

“You’re some sort of retard,
aren’t you?”

Magali sighed.  Glaring at her
sister, she said, “Look, Molly.  I’m sorry there’s no other girls in camp your
age, but Anna’s not going to be nice, no matter how much you try.  Really, she
won’t stop.  I’ve lived with her for eight years and she’s been insulting me
for six of them.  Just believe me when I say there’s no reason to hang around.”

“Let her stay,” Anna growled,
carelessly throwing her handful of belongings down on the nightstand behind
her.  She slumped into her cot, glaring at the girl.  “She’s just stupid.”

“Am not,” Molly said, sounding
indignant for the first time since she’d stepped into the room.  “My IQ is well
above average.”

Oh no,
Magali thought,
moaning inwardly.

But Anna had already taken the
bait.  Her eyes got a predatory gleam when she said, “Really?  What is it,
cupcake?”

“One-thirty-five,” Molly said.

Anna threw back her head and
laughed.

“What’s yours?” Molly demanded,
crossing her pudgy arms.

Still howling with laughter, Anna
lay down in her cot, rolled to face the wall, and yanked her covers over her
body.  She continued to laugh, but she said nothing more, no matter how many
times Molly repeated her question.

Eventually, the little girl gave
up and glanced at Magali, looking upset.

“Still wanna stay?” Magali asked
her, lifting a brow.

“What’s her IQ?” the girl asked.

“Don’t tell her,” Anna warned
over her shoulder, without rolling away from the wall.  “It’ll make her head
explode.”

Magali groaned and stood from her
chair.  “Let’s take a walk around camp, ok?  Get some fresh air.”

Molly glanced at Magali, then
said, “Okay.”

“I’m serious, Mag!”

“Yeah, whatever,” Magali said. 
“Molly, let’s go.”

She heard Anna sit up on her cot
as they left, but when she glanced behind, she saw that her sister hadn’t
followed them.  Magali stopped near one of the camouflaged government
porta-potties and turned to face the girl.  “Listen, Molly, sorry to tell you
this, but my sister’s smarter than you.  She’s smarter than me.  She’s smarter
than the Director.  She’s smarter than everybody in this damn camp.”

“Really?”  Molly wrinkled her
nose.  “How smart?”

“She just is.  And she’s mean.  But
she’s my sister, so I have to deal with her.”  She tapped Molly’s skull and
smiled.  “You, on the other hand, are free to leave at any time.”

“I like her,” Molly said.  “She’s
funny.”

Magali peered at the girl. 

Decided she had some sort of
screw loose. 

Reluctantly, she said, “You can’t
mean that.”

“I like her,” Molly repeated.

Magali realized Anna was right. 
There
was
something wrong with the kid.  Still, if that something
allowed her to overlook what would make anyone else reach for a knife or run
screaming…

Maybe she’s just what Anna
needs.
  Magali had to fight down a jolt of excitement at the thought of her
sister having a real live friend.  “Fine.  But promise me something.”

“What?” Molly asked, looking
eager.

Magali tapped Molly’s chest. 
“When the stuff she says starts to hurt, leave, ok?”

“Okay,” Molly assured her
cheerfully.

Magali stared. 
She’s an
angel.

Then her eyes caught the dusty
rows of aluminum huts and the razor-wire and guard towers looming just beyond,
their denizens pacing back and forth with automatic rifles.  Her gaze fell back
to Molly’s enthusiastic face.

No,
she realized. 
She’s
just desperate.

Chapter
8

Fun
in the Mounds

06:27:03  A: One-thirty-five. 
You’re just a hair below my retarded sister.

06:27:05  Anna Landborn engaged
in eating while talking.  Sister Magali Landborn still out of visual range. 
Assumed departed for Shrieker mounds.

06:27:05  A: If I had to guess,
I’d say she’s somewhere between a dead fish and a doornail.  Where’s that leave
you?

06:27:10  (Unit note:  Subject
Anna Landborn has still not replied to initial inquiry.  Retrying.)

06:27:10  F: What’s your IQ,
Anna?

06:27:12  Anna laughs.  Puts down
spoon.  Leans forward.

06:27:14  A: You’re gonna have to
do better than that, you glorified lump of slag.

06:27:15  (Unit note: Anna
Landborn appears adverse to relinquishing information regarding her
Intelligence Quotient.  Attempting alternative method of inquiry.)

06:27:17  F: Are you any good at
word-games, Anna?

06:27:19  Anna laughs.

06:27:20  Anna still laughing.

06:27:25  Anna still laughing.

06:27:30  (Unit note: Anna
Landborn did not respond.  Retrying.)

06:27:30  F: Are you any good at—

06:27:32  A: Shut up.

06:27:32  Anna stops laughing. 
Lowers head into hand.  Drums fingers against cheek.

06:27:35  Anna staring.

06:27:40  Anna staring.

06:27:45  (Unit note:  Subject
has directed a prolonged gaze at Unit Ferris.  Danger pathways triggered. 
Overriding.)

06:27:34  A: You want to play a
game, Molly?

06:27:38  F: What kind of game?

06:27:40  Anna smiling.

06:27:42  A: Hide and seek.  In
the mounds.

06:27:43  (Unit note: Subject
Anna Landborn has suggested entering restricted area.  AI units forbidden
entrance to the Shrieker mounds.  Shrieker emanations detrimental to AI
programming.  Attempting bypass.)

06:27:44  F: How about we play on
the surface, instead?  The Director said the two of us don’t have to go into
the mounds.  We’re too young for that.  Let’s stay in the hut and play games.

06:27:48  Anna snorts.

06:27:49  A: And leave my
retarded sister to get hit by the next Shriek?  No, I don’t think so.

06:27:52  (Unit note: Subject
rejected proposed alternative.  Priority conflict.  Attempting another bypass.)

06:27:52  F: What if we—

06:27:53  A: Can it, Tinman. 
Tell you what.

06:27:55  (Unit note: Subject
Anna Landborn has used derogative ‘Tinman’ five times in reference to Unit Ferris. 
Has not applied same derogative to other individuals.  Needs further review.)

06:27:55  Anna smiles.  Leans
forward.  Taps her skull with a finger.

06:27:55  A: If you aren’t too
chicken to go down into the mounds with me, Molly, I’ll tell you my IQ.  Hell,
I’ll play all the mind-games you want.

06:27:58  (Unit note:  Primary
program goal acknowledged by subject.  Priority conflict.  Program Watch Anna
Landborn given priority.  Overriding self-preservation protocols.)

06:27:58  F: Okay.  But you have
to promise.

06:27:50  A: Oh, I promise all
right.  We’ll play all sorts of games down there.  It’ll be so much fun.

06:28:03  F: Can we go now?

06:28:05  A: Sure.  You betcha,
you stupid heap.

06:28:07  (Unit note: Derogative
‘heap’ coincides with ‘tinman’ and ‘slag’ as possible robotic allusions. 
Possible undercover status compromised.  Attempting confirmation.)

06:28:07  F: Is there something
you don’t want to tell me, Anna?

06:28:09  Subject Anna Landborn’s
heart rate remains steady.  No pupil dilation.  Breathing regular.  No
unconscious muscle contraction.  No abnormal eye movement.

06:28:09  (Unit note: Anna
Landborn failed confirmation.)

06:28:10  Anna shoves food away
from her.  Stands up.

06:28:12  A: Nope.  How about we
go play in the Shrieker mounds?

06:28:14  F:  Sounds great!

06:28:16  A: I’ll bet it does. 
Come on, you retarded dumbbell.  Let’s get this show on the road.

06:28:20  End Dialogue. 
Conversation participants: F- Ferris, assistant to the director, chip ID F001HG494W15LKM. 
A- Anna Landborn, Fortune colonist, universal ID 123CANDYCORN.

06:28:20  Ferris following Anna
through cafeteria.

06:28:25  Ferris following Anna
through cafeteria.

06:28:30  Ferris following Anna
through cafeteria.

06:28:35  Ferris following Anna
through egger’s yard.

06:28:40  Ferris following Anna
through egger’s yard.

06:28:45  Ferris following Anna
through egger’s yard.

06:28:50  Ferris following Anna
through egger’s yard.

06:28:55  Ferris following Anna
through outer Shrieker compound.

06:29:00  Ferris following Anna
through outer Shrieker compound.

06:29:05  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mound, A Block.

06:29:05  (Unit note: Objective
achieved.  Retrying primary program query.)

06:29:05  Begin verbal record. 
Conversation participants: A- Anna Landborn, Fortune Colonist, universal ID
123CANDYCORN.  F- Ferris, assistant to the director, chip ID F001HG494W15LKM.

06:29:05  F: We’re in the mounds,
Anna.  What’s your IQ?

06:29:10  Anna walking.  Ferris
following.

06:29:15  Anna walking.  Ferris
following.

06:29:20  Anna walking.  Ferris
following.

06:29:25  (Unit note: Subject has
not responded to initial query.  Retrying.)

06:29:25  F: We’re in the—

06:29:27  A: Shut up.  Just shut
up until we get to B Block.

06:29:32  (Unit note: Subject
Anna Landborn proposed entering a doubly restricted area.  Direct contact with
Shriekers unavoidable.  Secondary self-preservation protocols triggered. 
Priority conflict.  Attempting bypass.)

06:29:32  F: Why don’t we play
here?  We’re safer if—

06:29:34  A: Did I tell you you
could stop walking, butterball?  No.  Just follow me and keep your mouth shut
until we get where we’re going.

06:29:38  (Unit note: Subject
rejected proposed alternative.  Subject leaving visual range.  Priority
conflict.  Attempting another bypass.)

06:29:38  F: You promised.

06:29:40  Anna walking.  Ferris
unable to follow under secondary self-preservation protocols.

06:29:45  Anna out of visual
range.

06:29:50  Anna out of visual
range.

06:29:53  Anna appears in
corridor ahead of Ferris.

06:29:54  A: You coming, Tinman?

06:29:57  F:  I want to play
here, Anna.  It’s not safe in there.

06:30:02  A: You do want to know
how smart I am, right Molly?  The only way you’re ever going to find out is if
you follow me all the way into the back of B Block.  As soon as you’re there,
I’ll tell you my IQ.

06:30:09  (Unit note:  Primary
program goal acknowledged by subject.  Priority conflict.  Program Watch Anna
Landborn given priority.  Overriding secondary self-preservation protocols.)

06:30:10  Ferris following Anna
into Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:15  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:20  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:22  Shrieker noted ahead. 
Anna approaching.

06:30:255555  Ferrrrris
follllowinng Annaaaaaaa.  Ppppppppppppaassssssssing Shhhhhhrrrriiieeker……….

06:30:30  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:32  Anna stops.  Turns to
Ferris.  Is smiling.

06:30:34  A: You enjoy that,
Molly?  You looked a little frazzled there for a minute.  If I didn’t know
better, I’d say it fried something.

06:30:36  F: I’m scared, Anna. 
Can’t we go back?

06:30:40  A: Nope, thunderbutt. 
Not if you wanna know my IQ.  I got some really fun games planned.  But only if
you can get there.

06:30:45  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:50  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:55  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:30:57  Shrieker noted ahead. 
Anna approaching.

06:3111:00  Fffffeerrrriss
fffoooooolllowinnnnnnnnng AAAAnnna……  PPPPaaaaaasssssinggg
Ssshhrrriiiiiiiiieekeeeeerrrr..

006:3331:000222 Aaaannnaaa
ssssttoopppped..

06:33333333311:0004  Aaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnaa
ssssssssssmmmmmmmmmmmmiiiiiiilliiiinnnnnnnngggggg.

00000666:3311111:05  Fffeerrrisss
ffoolllooowwwwwiiinnngg Aaaaannnnnaaaa ttttthhhrrrouuuuuugghhhhhh
Sssshhhrrriiiiieeekkkkkerrrr mmmmooounds, BBBB BBBBllllooooccckkk……..

06:31:10  Ferris following Anna
through Shrieker mounds, B Block.

06:31:14  Anna stops.

06:31:15  A: You still holding in
there, dipshit?  Damn.  I thought you were a goner there for a sec. 

06:31:17  F: I’m fine Anna, but
I’m scared.  We’re not supposed to be down here.  Let’s go back to the surface
to play.  Something bad could happen. 

06:31:21  A: You bet your ass it
could, but you want to know my IQ, right Molly?

06:31:23  F: Yes, Anna.

06:31:25  A: Then you ain’t seen
nothin’ yet.  Come on.  Look, there’s another Shrieker.  Let’s go take a closer
look.

06:31:30  F: I don’t like this,
Anna.  I want to go back.

06:31:33  A: Go ahead and leave. 
But if you do, I’m never going to tell you my IQ.

06:31:35 (Unit note: Subject Anna
Landborn proposes close inspection of Shrieker.  Tertiary self-preservation
protocols triggered.  Priority conflict.  Primary program goal acknowledged. 
Overriding tertiary self-preservation protocols.)

06:31:37  Ferris following Anna
toward Shrieker.

06:31:39  (Unit note: Subject’s older
sister, Magali Landborn, added to conversation, Dialogue attributed with a J.)

06:31:39  J: You want me to hold
it down or what?

06:3331:41  AA: NNNah. 
Shhhhriekeeeeer’ll takeeeee carrrrrree of iiiiiiiit.  Jjjjjjust
heeeellllppppppp mme tttttthhhhrrrrooooow iiiiittttt iiiiiinnnn ttttthhhheee
ppiittttt whhhhheeeeeeeeeennnnnnnn iiiiiiiitttttt’’’’sssss
dddddddddddeeeeeeeeeeeaaaaaaaadddddddd.

006:::331111:4433
(((Uuuunniiiitttttttt nnnnnnooooooooooootttteee::::: Tttrrraaaapppp
ddddddddeeeeeeettttttttteeeeeeeeeeecccccccccccctttttttttttttteeeeeeeeeedddddddd. 
Ooooooooooooovvvvvvvveeeeeeerrrrriiiiiiiiiiidddddddddinnnnnnnnnnnnnggggggggggg
pppppppprrrrrrrrrrrrrriiiiiiiiiimmmmmmmmmmmaaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy
ggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg

* * *

“It looks a little shell-shocked.”

Anna shrugged.  “Probably a fried
circuit.”

Magali peered at the little
girl.  “You sure it’s a robot?”

Anna waved her hand in front of
the little girl’s face.  The hazel eyes never moved.  “Yep.  I’m sure.”

“How’d you know?” Magali asked.

Her sister glanced at her and
snorted.  Then she grabbed the robot’s shoulders and tugged it over backwards. 
It fell in the slime, stiff as a board.

“Careful,” Magali said.  “You
sure it’s not gonna hurt you?”

Anna rapped her knuckles against
the girl’s forehead.  The robot didn’t blink.  “Yep.”  She started dragging it
backwards, toward the pit Magali had dug that night.

“So why’d they send it?” Magali
asked, bending to help her.  “And
who
sent it?”  She grabbed a stiff
hand and pried the robot off the ground, grunting.  “Damn it’s heavy.”

“Yeah,” Anna said.  “That was one
of the things that gave it away.  The way it made my bed creak—I knew it was at
least two hundred pounds.  Even for a butterball, that’s over the top.”

Magali grunted and helped shove
and slide the dead robot into the pit, keeping an eye on the Shrieker in the
corner of the room, which she had placated with a pile of lakeweed while
waiting for her sister.

Once the robot was in the hole,
she cleared her throat and looked at Anna.  “Why’d they send it, Anna?”

Her sister shrugged and picked up
the shovel.  Thrusting it at her, she said, “Fill it in.”

Magali took the shovel,
frowning.  “Who sent the robot, Anna?”

“Just fill in the damn hole,”
Anna snapped.

Magali glanced at the Shrieker,
which had stopped to look at them.  Then, turning back to her sister, she
handed the shovel back.  “You do it,” she said.  Then she turned and left.

Anna found her later in the
breakroom, where Magali was drinking one of the now-ubiquitous strawberry
sodas.  Seeing Anna’s pout, Magali wanted to slap her.  “You didn’t fill it in,
did you?”

Anna dropped the shovel at
Magali’s feet.  “I told you to do it.”

It took all of Magali’s
self-control to stay in her chair.  She snorted.  “It’s your funeral.”  She
closed her eyes and took a long, leisurely swallow of soda.  When she opened
her eyes, Anna was gone.  The door back to camp was open.

“Come back here!” Magali snapped.

Anna ignored her.  Narrowing her
eyes, Magali put aside the soda and went after her. 

* * *

gggggggggggggggggggg

(System Reboot)

10:15:21  Reestablished
connection to camp computer.  Time discrepancy noted.  Date/time adjusted. 
Approximate missing record: 56h42m13s

10:15:21  Noting physical
surroundings unlike those pre-lapse.  Current surroundings include a depression
with earthen sides.  Approximately seventy percent of outer layer of Unit Ferris
dermis coated in Shrieker excretions, consistent with being dragged.

10:15:21  (Unit note: Analyzation
of surroundings and pre-lapse record indicates hostile actions taken by subject
Anna Landborn and sister Magali Landborn.  Possible criminal charges
applicable: conspiracy, destruction of government property.  New primary
program initiated: Report to Director Yura Nalle.)