World-Mart (32 page)

Ray gave Virginia a friendly pat on the back.  “You’re doing the right thing.”

Virginia nodded again.  Without another word, she followed Mary out through the cave and began down the hidden trail that led to the market.

Chapter Thirty

GEORGE only left his spot once, and only long enough to relieve himself nearby in a patch of tall bushes.  Joseph had long gone, content with the bag of rice, fresh razor, and pound of dried fruit he ended up with by his final trade.  The hours went by slowly, but the afternoon eventually lapsed into evening.  The sun set, and twilight soon turned to dark.  The temperature dropped back below freezing, and George watched as the people, one by one, packed up their wares and the crowds thinned to just a handful of stragglers.  He held his jacket tightly around him, wrapping his scarf over his nose and mouth.

He worked to look calm and controlled, feeling increasingly threatened the darker and the more desolate the market became.  He noticed that a few younger males who had been loitering and goofing around for hours had been taking turns looking over at him for some time.  He made sure to establish eye contact whenever he could, to let the young deviants know that he was aware of them and not intimidated by their presence.

The group slowly made their way closer, wary of the trespassing human.  One of them built up the courage to face George, and he stood in front of him with a malevolent sneer.  “Do you have something to trade?”

George stared down the young man, ignoring an intense urge to look away.  “I’m just waiting for someone.”

“You picked an interesting place to meet,” the deviant said, holding his fix just as intently on George’s unwavering eyes.

George gave a light shrug.  “You could say that.”

The deviant turned back to his friends, who inched closer behind him.  “I think we should make a trade,” he said.

George swallowed hard.  “I don’t have anything to trade.”

“That jacket looks warm,” the deviant said, turning back once more to flash a smile to his friends.

George continued to stare down the young man.  “I’m not trading my jacket.”

“No?”  The deviant grabbed George by his backpack, sending him to the ground.  He kicked George in the stomach.  “You and your expensive clothes!  Did you come here just to flaunt what you have?  Don’t you have anything better to do with your time, rich man?” he asked.

George balled up on the ground, struggling to regain the wind that had been kicked out of him.  He covered his head and face, should the deviant throw another kick his way.

“What is your problem?” Mary yelled from the edge of the field.

The young men froze and turned to Mary, and then backed away from George.

“Get the hell out of here!” Mary yelled.  “Ray has immediate jobs for all of you!”

The young men silently disappeared down the path.

Virginia came up behind Mary, struggling to see through the dark glasses.  She wanted George to look at her when they finally saw each other, not her eyes, and she shook with apprehension over how he might react when he did finally see them.  The sunglasses left her virtually blind in the dark, however, and she had no idea George was even in the clearing until she heard his voice.

“Virginia?” George called out to her as he caught his breath.

Virginia stumbled across the clearing, peeking below her glasses as she quickened her pace.  “George!”

They came together in a tight embrace, and then kissed passionately.  They both cried, holding on as though they might lose one another once more if one of them were to let go.  The rest of the world seemed to fall out of existence for the moment.

“How did you know I was still alive?” Virginia asked.

“I just knew,” George said.  He went to remove her sunglasses, and she grabbed his hand.  “Let me see,” he said.

Her hand slowly eased up, and he slipped the sunglasses from her face.  She looked up at him, anxiously holding her breath.

“I missed you,” George said, looking into her eyes.  “Let’s go home.”

Virginia glanced over at Mary, who silently shook her head at her.

“I can’t go back,” Virginia said.  “Not yet, anyway.”

“We’ll find a way to make it work!” George said, his voice going desperate.

Virginia took a deep breath.  “The world is changing.  Half of the quadroplex will be infected with HD-1 by the end of tomorrow.  The deviant underground is in the middle of a strike to overturn Corporate.  The world as we know it is at an end.”

George shook his head.  “What are you talking about?”

Virginia pulled the business card from her pocket, and George jumped back when he saw the glitter dropping from it.

“What are you doing?” George asked, his voice shaking.  He stared at the card, holding a comfortable distance between them.

“I want you and the kids to come with me.  We can start over,” Virginia said, extending the card to George.

“Keep that thing away from me!” he cried.

Virginia pulled back, unsure what to do next.

George noticed that Virginia’s hands were bare.  “Where’s your wedding ring?” he asked.

Virginia looked down at her ring finger, and then shook her head.  “I lost it.”

Mary hurried impatiently up to Virginia.  She glared over at George.  “You should come with us.”

“I’m taking my wife home with me,” George said firmly.  “Please excuse us.”

“I don’t have time for this,” Mary mumbled as she attempted to snatch the business card from Virginia’s hand.

Virginia resisted her, and the two women went to the ground as Mary swept her legs.  George jumped back, his eyes staying on the glittery card, as the two women fought over it.  After only a moment, however, Mary let her go.

Virginia jumped to her feet.  “Go home!  I’ll find you!” she yelled to George, and then ran off with the card, a trail of glitter shimmering behind her in the cloud-dampened moonlight.

Mary looked at her hand, noting the small amount of Blue Dust she had been able to pull off the card.  She lunged at George as he attempted to pass her, smacking him in the face with her infected hand.

George stared at the woman for a moment, stunned.

Mary held up her hand, showing him the remnants of glitter that still stuck to her fingers.  “It’s for the best.  Trust me,” she said, proud of her deed.

George wiped at his face, finding traces of glitter on his fingers.  “Why?”

“You’ll thank me later.”

George cried out, and then swung at Mary with an angry right hook.  He hit her squarely in the temple, and she fell to the ground, going quiet and still.

George kept his distance despite the fact that she stayed down.  He felt bad that he had hit the woman, but he was mortified over the fact that he hadn’t been quick enough to keep her from hitting him first.  He looked around, seeing no one else around, and then turned to the trail to find Virginia.  “Virginia!” he yelled as loudly as he could.

Virginia heard George’s call, but she continued along the trail.  She sobbed uncontrollably, running as quickly as her legs could take her.

She had no idea where she was going, but she figured that it really didn’t matter at this point.

“Virginia!” George called again from the distance.

Virginia continued down the path, falling to the ground with a loud cry as she ran straight into Shelley.

Shelley went down with her, and she quickly scrambled to her feet.  “What the hell is your—”  Shelley fell silent as she recognized Virginia’s face.  Shelly began to shake, eyeing the glittery business card in Virginia’s hand and the expensive Corporate coat now soiled with mud.

Virginia gasped, and then took a strained breath.  “My baby?”  Tears streamed down her cheeks and a relieved smile fell across her face.  “I thought I’d never see you again!” she cried, horrified at the bruise disseminating around Shelley’s eye.  She got to her feet, dropping the business card, oblivious to the glitter that remained on her fingers.

Shelley backed away from her.  Her throat knotted up so tightly that she was afraid she might stop breathing.  “You’re dead!” she gasped.

“They lied,” Virginia said, carefully matching Shelley’s steps, desperate for Shelley to know the truth.

Shelley quickly dug into her bag and pulled out the knife.  She held it up, pointing it at Virginia.  “You’re lying!”  She forced in another heart-wrenching gasp, crying out, fighting to breathe.  “Stop haunting me!”

“It’s me,” Virginia cried.  She held her hands up in the air.  “Put down the knife, sweetie!”

They made eye contact, but they only held it for a moment.  Shelley gave her a sideways glance, visibly disgusted by the sight of her deviant-blue eyes.

“Tell me who sent you!” Shelley demanded, waving the knife wildly in front of her, prompting Virginia to flinch back.  “Tell me where you came from!”

“I got lost!” Virginia cried.  “You have to believe me!”

“Imposter!” Shelley screamed.  “My mother is dead!”

“I’m right here!”  Virginia cried.

“No!” Shelley bellowed, falling to her knees and covering her ears with her hands.  Her body shook violently, then shrieked in horror as Virginia tried to close the gap between them.

“Virginia!” George called from somewhere in the distance.

“George!” Virginia called back.  She quickly turned back to Shelley, startled by the blank expression that suddenly covered her daughter’s face.  “Shelley, you need to listen to me,” she said as calmly as she could.

“I don’t think so,” Shelley said, her voice suddenly equally as calm.

A shiver ran down Virginia’s spine as she searched the cold eyes staring back at her for some hint of the daughter she had left behind.  “I’m still me,” she said, fighting another onset of tears.

Shelley glanced down at Virginia’s hands, and then stared back up into her pale eyes.  “I don’t know who you are!” 

“How can you say that?” Virginia cried aloud.

Shelly scurried to her feet as Virginia rushed up to her.  She tried to push the knife out of the way and embrace Shelley—just to hold her and tell her everything would be okay—and she shrieked as the blade went into her side with one quick, hot jab.

Shelley backed away, crying out at the sight of Virginia’s blood on her hands.  Virginia grabbed the knife and attempted to pull it out, coughing and moaning as the blade held deep inside her.  The fur all along her arms and in the front of the coat became red and matted.

Virginia looked at Shelley, her eyes filled with anguish and horror.  “My baby!” she whispered, her face cold with tears, as she dizzily stumbled to her knees.

“Virginia!” George called from just around a bend.

Shelley continued to back away.