Beneath the Gated Sky by Robert Reed

Author:Robert Reed
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781626814677
Publisher: Diversion Books
Published: 2014-11-16T16:00:00+00:00

2

Porsche was standing in a damp dark basement, the persistent flavor of concrete in her mouth and nostrils, her bare human feet recoiling when they touched the chill floor.

“Where are we?” asked Nathan.

Then he answered his own question.

“Earth, again,” he muttered, gawking at his own furless, baby-soft body.

Weak fluorescent lights were buried in the ceiling. Four sets of clothes waited for them, each bearing a name tag, the PORSCHE tag flipping like a kite as a nearby vent began to blow.

Porsche pulled on panties, her remade finger aching where it had been pierced by the bent nail.

Nathan was watching. His eyes tracked down and up again, meeting her eyes, and he looked at the ceiling, squeaking quietly, “Sorry.”

“No harm done.” She half-smiled, pulling on heavy trousers, then a sports bra, two shirts, and heavy wool socks. Her footwear was top-of-the-line hiking boots. In her pockets were a Canadian passport, a wallet, and three flavors of dollars. She had a new, temporary identity. “Priscilla?” she called out. “Is this a joke?”

No answer; her voice rattled against the concrete, then vanished.

Nathan was dressing hastily, staring resolutely at the floor.

Again, Porsche reassured him that she had taken no offense.

He took a deep breath, gathering himself. “Perhaps my son mentioned,” he began. “His mother was a very beautiful woman.”

“Yes.”

“Beautiful,” he repeated, baffled by his good fortune. Then he risked eye contact, telling her, “You’re almost as lovely, I think.”

“Thank you, Nathan.”

There were stairs at the far end of the basement, and a human shadow fell down them, followed by a familiar voice. Loud and insistent, and welcome, Trinidad said, “I’m glad you made it. We know what happened, and your friends are all right.” Then, “Come on up. I’m afraid that we’ve got a lot to talk about.”

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.