The Beam: Season One by Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant

Author:Sean Platt & Johnny B. Truant [Platt, Sean & Truant, Johnny B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Realm & Sands
Published: 2013-07-16T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 8

Kai’s head hung backward, limp like overcooked pasta. As the pair of men hauling her body by the arms and legs walked, her vision was upside down, swaying rhythmically back and forth. She had a strange thought (This is what it must be like to be a metronome) and in a way it was hilarious, and she laughed, the sound far off even to her own ears.

“Did she just laugh?” said one of the men, stopping. The other kept walking, and Kai had the distinct impression that they’d tear her in half down the middle. She wondered if nanos could repair a half girl. She also wondered if her vagina would end up with the right or left half, and this mattered because it was her moneymaker. But then she had a harrowing thought. While the idea of being ripped in half was only interesting as an intellectual exercise, the idea that she might rip at the vagina was downright terrifying. It made sense, too, seeing as it was a natural structural failure point.

“She didn’t laugh,” said the second voice above her. She couldn’t see either man. Her neck no longer worked. She didn’t remember why, but it seemed to involve pain and the distinct impression that death would be grand. Preferable to living, anyway.

“I heard her laugh,” said the first voice.

“She’s spent an hour on an Orion and showed nearly flat when we ran her through the scanner. She’s as good as dead. I don’t think someone with brainwaves that flat even can laugh.”

“I can’t kill someone who’s laughing,” said the first voice. “It’s too creepy.”

Kai’s right arm and leg jiggled. The motion caused the rest of her to jiggle. Her vision went with it. Her vision’s rhythm was as hilarious as the idea that she was flat. She wasn’t particularly well-endowed, but none of her clients had ever called her flat. Nicolai in particular had always said that anything more than a handful was wasted.

“Hey sweetheart!” said a cheery voice from the jiggling side. “Are you having a good time?” Then: “See? Flat.”

Kai tried to say that she wasn’t flat. She failed, drooling instead. But immediately afterward, she seemed to realize they weren’t talking about her chest. They were talking about her brain. The thought was no longer hilarious. She wasn’t sure why any of it mattered, though it certainly seemed to. She wanted to sit up and think, but her body still wasn’t responding.

“I heard her laugh,” said the first voice.

“Why do you give a shit?”

“I’ve… I’ve never done this before.” The voice sounded nervous.

“It’s not killing,” said the second voice. “It’s disposal. Look at her. She’s gone.” He paused. “What a waste. She’s pretty hot.”

“Yeah,” said the other man. Kai found that she could interpret his voice — not his words, but their inflection. Something inside her wanted to attribute emotions to the voice’s timber, and Kai found she could hear his heartbeat, could feel his skin where he held her wrist and ankle. Sensors

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