Lost Places by Sarah Pinsker

Author:Sarah Pinsker
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Small Beer Press
Published: 2023-04-26T17:39:42+00:00

The slow mile took everything she had left. By the time they arrived at a bland sandstone ranch, only the shooting pains in her hips kept her awake.

“Around the back,” said the drone.

It didn’t look like a murderer’s house. If she’d had any concern, the time to escape would have been while the drone had disappeared for its battery change, anyway. She followed a wide walk around to the back door, which swung open.

“Come in.” A voice from inside, echoed by the drone.

The drone flitted in like a bird and alit on a cluttered counter, sweeping papers away with rotor chop. She followed it into a small one-room apartment, galley kitchen on the left, where the drone had settled, a bed divided from a workstation by a single tall bookcase on the right.

“Don’t mind the mess.” No drone echo this time.

Zora looked up to find the voice’s source, then down, as a woman came around the bookcase in a wheelchair.

“Nice to meet you in person,” the woman said. “I’m Gina.”

“Zora.”

Gina was young, though Zora wasn’t good at assessing age anymore. Younger than Jordan, older than the undergrads she’d taught.

“Let me guess: I’m not what you expected?”

“I didn’t know what to expect. This explains why you said ‘how am I supposed to get Tiny back.’ I didn’t understand why you wouldn’t climb down to get it—her.”

“Yeah. I think I got lucky there. Her GPS says they took her with them when they took your sweater, so I’ll be able to claim her from someplace that doesn’t involve hiking. Anyway, you probably need to sit. You must be exhausted.”

Zora tried to rally. “A bathroom first, then water, then my phone call, then I’ll sit.”

“Priorities. I get it. The bathroom is over there.”

The door had been removed to clear room for the wheelchair, but Zora was beyond privacy. She didn’t use grab bars at the house, because the bathroom mirror always suggested she use them, and she hated the bathroom mirror. Tonight she grabbed, afraid she wouldn’t get back up again otherwise. When she came back out, Gina handed her a glass and a cell phone, then disappeared into the galley.

Zora guzzled the water, the best thing she had ever tasted. The phone still felt like a trap, but it was too late to worry.

Bless him, he answered, at four-thirty in the morning. “Norman, this is Zora Stein. Anya has been hospitalized against our wishes, and I can’t get her out.”

His voice on the other end radiated warmth and concern, instantly alert. She didn’t realize how worried she’d been that he wouldn’t believe her until she heard him swearing under his breath, punctuated by lawyerly phrases. She breathed a sigh of relief. If she was at home, Mrs. L would be throwing all the calming tea at her by now.

Gina wheeled back in a moment after she’d hung up. She’d probably been listening, but that was okay.

“Thank you,” Zora said.

“No problem. Being trapped in a situation is terrible. I’ve been there too.”

“Been there, but not anymore?”

“Working on it.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.