The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2024 by Hugh Howey

Author:Hugh Howey
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2024-10-22T00:00:00+00:00

That night she tells Samir she’s thinking about quitting. He nods and does what he always does when she talks about quitting, which is pack her a bowl. It has become something of a ritual, to the point where I’m thinking about quitting actually means Wanna get high? She says they should start using edibles like she always does, but there’s something in her that doesn’t want to let go of that burn deep in the lungs.

“You worried you’re going to get hurt?” he asks.

“Yeah,” she says. “Did you see what happened today?”

He watches the smoke drift out of his lungs up toward the ceiling. “I saw,” he says in that singsongy way he has when he’s considering carefully what to say next, “a situation, and people responding to the situation the way their excellent training prepared them to respond. Including you, babe,” he adds before she can get mad.

“All in a day’s work,” she says bitterly.

“Yeah, that was kind of over the top. But seriously, you kicked ass today. For someone with no powers, faced with that situation?” He extends a fist and Leelee feels the profound obligation to bump it. “Fuck yeah.”

They’re both pretty stoned. It’s nice. Samir has a way of making her feel centered, like he believes in what she’s doing more than she does, and that makes it a little easier for her to get up in the morning and do it all over again.

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