A People's Future of the United States: Speculative Fiction from 25 Extraordinary Writers by Victor LaValle

Author:Victor LaValle [LaValle, Victor]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2019-02-05T00:00:00+00:00

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She was given a car, and a sleeping girl was gently laid across the backseat by Brian and a woman who looked to be the senator’s wife. The girl was bundled in a blanket, and at one point the edge of it fell away to reveal golden skin and curly blond hair. The woman quickly covered the girl’s face again before planting a kiss on her forehead. Alyssa watched it all without saying a word. After they were done, Brian handed Alyssa a card with her name on it.

“This is the account where your money will be. You can use as much of it as you want to get you to North Dakota.”

“North Dakota?” Alyssa asked. Wasn’t that a strange place to take a sick, pregnant girl? When the senator said the Dakotas, she’d thought he was just giving general directions, not an actual destination.

The man didn’t even blink as he said, “Yes. The family has a compound there and a doctor waiting. You have forty-eight hours. If you aren’t there we will find you. Your directions are preprogrammed into your GPS. Do not deviate from the route.”

Alyssa said nothing but took the card. Then she climbed into the car and began to drive toward the highway. She passed other large houses until the landscape smoothed to farms and eventually suburban neighborhoods of identical-looking homes. The directions took her toward the highway on-ramp, where she stopped at a red light. A van pulled up next to her and Alyssa stared straight ahead.

A middle-aged woman exited the van, walked up to the driver’s side door, and raised her eyebrows in question. Talking was no good, because the senator and his people were most likely listening.

Alyssa gave the woman a thumbs-up, pointing to the backseat.

The woman flashed an okay sign. Alyssa popped the locks. The woman opened the rear door and gently grabbed the girl by the shoulders. Another woman exited the van to grab feet. The two women hoisted the girl into the van, closed the doors on both vehicles, and, when the light turned green, drove away.

Alyssa got onto the on-ramp, her heart light. For the first time in a while, she smiled.

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