The Spire by Peter F Smith

Author:Peter F Smith [Smith, Peter F]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-11-07T16:00:00+00:00

6

She stood there frozen and at a loss for words. Until this very moment, she had either met or knew of every free person left on the surface of the Earth, or so she thought. With this ominous mountain of a man standing between her and escape, her world view was immediately changed, and she was doing her best to process the new information.

He took a step toward her, and she could sense his intimidating mass moving below his cloak. She stepped back mirroring his movement. She felt her stomach fall under his intense and never failing gaze. His eyes were the coldest she had ever experienced, and she began to experience a familiar sensation. The very same one she felt the last time Chen had leered at her across the bonfire as if he was going to have her and it was a forgone conclusion.

“Sit." The word coming out like a gunshot. She slowly backed up to the couch and lowered herself into its well-worn fabric.

He grabbed a stool from against the wall and placed it mere centimeters from her. “Ya know, where I come from breaking into someone's home and stealing their stuff can end you up dead."

She tried to respond but the words caught in her throat. “I assume they didn't teach you any manners in that Spire that you've been hiding in all your life."

Her blood ran cold and her stomach tied into knots. “How do you know where I’m from?”

He rolled his eyes and leaned forward. The stink of his breath mixed with missing and yellowing teeth to make her skin crawl. “They must be raisin’ you dumb. Who else could look as healthy and as well dressed as you? ‘sides, ya got his eyes."

“Whose?”

“Who else? Daddy Patterson."

She sat back into the couch pressed there by the invisible hand of shock. “How do you know my father?”

Chuckling he said, “Full of questions, ain't ya? Well princess, pretty much everyone knew your dad. Once the shit hit the fan, me and my boys though, you could say, we worked for him. Only thing is we didn’t know that we were. Hell, only reason I'm here and they're all worm crap is because I realized it in time."

“You’re lying. My dad wouldn't work with someone like you." Even through her fear, she found the ability to be offended at the very thought of her father employing someone who she knew in her core was evil, even after only knowing him a few brief minutes.

He threw his head back and laughed, “Oh, you are your father’s daughter. Living all high up in that tower make you think you’re better than the rest of us down here, huh? Well sweetheart, you ain't so smart. I’ve managed to avoid your family’s robotic death squads for around fifteen years now.”

Shock overcame her. The idea that her father was sending out robotic units to kill survivors of the plague was preposterous. Her disbelief must have been visible as mock sympathy flowed across his face and into his motions.

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