Page 73 of Sparktopia
“Maybe you’re just wrong?” She runs ahead of me now, making the lights pop on above us. Again, it hits me that they are strong and solid in this section when they should be weak and flickering.
But there’s no time to think about that now.
Eventually we get back to the stairwell and then it’s a long hike back up.
It feels like it takes forever to get back to the hallway with the lights that flicker, and by this time my arms are aching. I pause, putting the woman down, take a breath, then pick her back up, but this time I throw her over my shoulder to give my arms a break.
Anneeta snickers at me. “If she wakes up, she’s gonna be mad that you’re carrying her like a bag of flour.”
“Who cares? Let her be mad then. That’s what happens when you pass out a million floors below ground and trigger security sensors.”
By the time we’ve reached the end of the ramp and people start appearing again, I realize I can’t really carry her past the lobby without drawing a lot of attention due to her dress. Which, I’ve got to admit, is wildly sexy, but completely inappropriate for nighttime. It’s below freezing in the tower right now. So I put her down again, shrug off my jacket, and Anneeta helps me put it on her and zip it up.
When we finally make it to the lobby the government ID people are gone, but there’s still a few people waiting in line for dinner services.
I look down at Anneeta, ready to ask her if she thinks the dinner people will take a passed-out woman, but I find her eyeballing the short pantry line in a way that has nothing to do with this woman over my shoulder.
She’s hungry. I recognize the look. “Go on, go eat. I’ll take care of her.”
Anneeta looks back up at me, questions in her eyes. “What are you gonna do with her?”
I blow out a breath, frustrated. The closest health center is a long way off. I don’t wanna do it. So I tell Anneeta the only other option I have. “Just… take her upstairs to my place and let her sleep it off, I guess.”
Anneeta finds this solution to be acceptable, because she’s nodding before I even finish. “That’s a good idea. I’m super hungry. Are you hungry? Do you want me to bring you some dinner?”
“Thanks, it’s a nice offer. But no. Go eat, then go to sleep. It’s past your bedtime.”
“OK, Tyse.” She yawns cavernously as she talks. “I am pretty tired. And hungry. I’ll come check on you tomorrow.”
“Hey, wait.”
She turns and looks at me.
“Check my pocket.” I nod my head down to the one along the side of my leg. “Take four coins. Hell, take five.”
Her eyes brighten. “Thanks!” Then she shoves her hand into the pocket, pulls out a handful of coins, counts out five, then drops the rest back into my pocket as she flashes me her new toothless grin. “Now I really will come by tomorrow!” Then she skips off and joins the short line for dinner, looking over her shoulder one more time to wave.
What a weird day. And I’ve only been awake for the end of it.
I hit the main stairwell, still carrying the woman like a sack of flour, and find that very few people are interested in the fact that I’m hauling an unconscious woman up to my quarters. A few of them make jokes, but most of them don’t even look twice.
That’s the thing about living in the God’s Tower ruin—pretty much anything goes. As long as you don’t mess with people, they don’t mess with you.
By the time I get home and drop the woman facedown onto my bed, I’m exhausted. It’s been a while since I did so much physical exercise and I probably climbed forty or fifty flights of stairs in the past few hours.
Once I’ve unloaded her, I grab the disposable phone from the trash can, checking for battery. It’s at three percent, but that’s good enough to shoot off one text to Stayn:Found your disturbance. All good now. Check in tomorrow.
It sends, but immediately after, it does the death beep, so I throw it back in the trash.
Then I turn and look at the woman. What now? Wake her up? Is she dying? Should I take her to the health center anyway?
I actually laugh out loud at the thought. It’s not happening.
After all that exertion I’m due a shower. So I take myself over to the bathroom, which is just a tiny space separated from the kitchen by a curtain.
A few seconds later my battle belt is hanging over a chair and my shirt is on the floor. I peek past the shower curtain, start the water—praying there’s enough power up here right now to get it lukewarm—and then sit down in the chair and unlace my boots as I stare at the woman on my bed.
She’s pretty, I’ll give her that. Long blonde hair, nice body…niiiiicebody. And a little bit slutty. Which is… kinda how I like ’em.
