Insatiable Machine by Jesse Life

Author:Jesse Life
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Fernwood Publishing
Published: 2018-05-21T04:00:00+00:00

Clamping her eyes shut as the ancient van hit another pothole, Skyie heard her backpack slide off the seat into the footwell. Snapping a hand to Laika before he could follow it, she struggled to make sense out of what she was hearing. “Sepsis? Nano-cells cause sepsis?”

In the seat next to her, her mother shook her head. “No, sepsis is a complication. They’d have to be programmed for the underlying infection.”

Her father looked back at them from the passenger seat. “We won’t know for sure until we can get a copy of the autopsy report.”

“What if he was actually just sick?”

The stranger her parents had introduced as Hudge found her eyes in the rearview mirror. “Well, it’s awfully convenient he should suddenly be out of the way just as your parents connect him to an unauthorized nano-cell trial. Equally convenient is locking up all of you so you stop digging up things you shouldn’t.”

“But you said they only wanted us for questioning.”

“‘Wanted for questioning’ is code for picking you up and holding you indefinitely. Trust me when I say you don’t want to end up where they’ll take you.”

The weight of this comment might not have hit as hard if it hadn’t been followed by the whoop of a siren. Spinning around, Skyie looked out the back window to see an enormous armored urban rover emerge from a side street several blocks back and speed to catch up with them. “It’s my ankle monitor. They’re tracking me.”

Hudge glanced in the rearview mirror. “I know.”

“Is there something else we can do?” asked her father. “Some other way we can turn it off?”

“I didn’t even know it was possible until you told me about this Felix person, but I might be able to buy us some time.” Hudge tapped the in-dash computer. “Support.”

A short burst of static came over the van’s speakers, followed by a scratchy female voice on the other end. “Copy. Just locking your location.” The speakers crackled again as they waited. “Okay, got it. Support is a mile west. I’m sending the feed to you now.” Glancing in the rearview mirror again, Hudge took a corner quickly and headed west toward the Borders. Seconds later, the windshield flashed blue as it received the signal. Superimposing itself upon the glass, the projected route glowed white, indicating directions with floating arrows while a bird’s-eye map of the immediate area appeared in front of her father. Blinking in blue at its center was a small circle. From its location, Skyie realized it was them. Two blocks back was the police vehicle, flashing red.

Hudge pointed to the map. “Find the other blue one.”

Bringing a hand up to the windshield, her father scrolled the map west.

Skyie watched the red dot getting closer. “So long as I’m with you, they’ll be able to find you. Buying time won’t matter.”

Hudge ignored her. “Where are they, Richard?”

“I see them. They’re heading up Nordic Avenue.”

Again, Hudge cranked the wheel and the van skidded into a narrow alley. Sparks flew as the side of the van scraped along brick and metal.

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