Inbetween 1
Woomera
7.51 a.m.
29 degrees Celsius
She sat down on the scorched, rocky ground and pulled off the flimsy prison shoes. Both heels had blistered. How long had she been running? And what was the use, anyway? She couldn’t keep up his pace. A feeling of panic as she looked over her shoulder. She twisted her body around and studied the terrain. How far had she travelled? Could she find the way back by herself?
A grunt alongside her made her jump. Startled, surprised that he’d come back for her. Why would he do that? An exasperated sigh from him as he squatted down beside her. Was he annoyed with her? Was that possible? Not that he be annoyed with her but that he could be annoyed at all. The Ex had no emotions, so she’d been told. She watched him warily as he took her left foot in one hand and placed the other hand over the blistered heel. A cold tingling sensation. When he took his hand away the blister was gone.
She gave him a puzzled look. Steel blue eyes looked back at her. “Thank you,” she mumbled and watched him repeat the procedure on her right foot. For once she couldn’t think of anything to say. What does one say to an Ex? Do they speak? Are they even capable of speech? “Hey!” she squawked, as he picked her up and slung her over his shoulder. “Put me down!”
Upside down it was hard to tell where they were going but she suspected that he was taking her back to the facility. Pointless trying to resist; at least she didn’t have to walk. “I’m not a sack of potatoes!” she grumbled to his back.
“Heavier.”
“What?” She tried to look up over her shoulder. He speaks!!
“Heavier. Than a sack of potatoes.”
She couldn’t see his face, couldn’t tell if he was joking or serious. Executors didn’t have a sense of humour, did they? What would be the point? “Well, thank you very much!” she snapped, then reminded herself who this was. An arsenal on legs, that’s who. She kept quiet after that.
She was right about where he was taking her, she observed unhappily as he deposited her on the steps of the detention block. She looked around nervously. It was still here, hovering in the heat haze, permeating everything; invisible; ominous. Nothing stirred; the air itself seemed to be holding its breath. The facility was as silent and empty as it had been when she took off after him earlier that morning.
She grabbed the back of his coat as he turned to leave. He stopped, looked over his shoulder at her. “Where is everyone? What happened here?” she demanded, letting go of his coat. His eyes narrowed slightly. She stared back, a shakily defiant look on her face.
“Stay,” he said, pointing to the open door behind her.
“No!”
“It’s safe.”
“Safe?!”
“No contamination.”
“What?!”
“Go,” he said and gave her a light push towards the open door.
“No!” she said, resisting the push. She did not want to stay here.
The Ex regarded her with cold, expressionless eyes. “Stay,” he repeated and turned towards the gates.
“I’m not staying here!” she shouted to his departing back.
“Stay!” he ordered without turning around, pointing a finger to where she stood.
“I’m not a dog!”
She watched him walk towards the massive metal gates, hoping that on the next step he would stop and come back for her. He didn’t stop; not even a glance over his shoulder as he strode out of the compound, leaving the gates open to the arid wilderness outside.
The morning sun glared off the metallic panels of the gates, making her squint and bring a hand up to shield her eyes. The desert was warming up but the sun seemed unable to penetrate the menacing chill inside the razor-wired walls. She shuddered and folded her arms tightly around herself and stepped into the building. Her cell suddenly was a good place to be: safe and familiar; a refuge.
the complete story is available as an e-book: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/153403
Comments
Again, this is a compelling read
Thank you for reading and commenting :-)
– Alenka Co
Wow, fascinating beginning. I’ll come back for more when I can!
Thank you :-) Appreciate that you’ve taken the time to read my writing.
– Alenka Co
i’m curious about this ex—what made him like that, or maybe what he is… i will be looking into this…
Thanks, Zoe – hope it’s worth the read to find out :-)
– Alenka Co
I really like this twist, great imagination Alenka:)
thanks, Vesna
it’s fun writing stuff like this :)
– Alenka Co
Congrats on your feature…thus came across this and had to read….an intriguing start to what looks to be a fascinating story!
Thank you, Pam …. I am so thrilled to have ‘inbetween’ featured. So far, 108 chapters have been posted. I try to do one a day and encouraging comments like yours help keep me focused. :)
– Alenka Co
I love the start here and have the desire to read on. Once you have it editted and into print I would like the chance to get a signed copy. It looks like an awesome story.
As a reader, you have no choice …. a ‘thank you’ first edition would be on it’s way as soon as it got published :)
I think this will be as far as the story goes ….. I don’t have what it takes to self-publish and I don’t think I have the energy to go once again through all that submitting to publishers involves.
Nice to have you reading it, JRGarland ….. I appreciate it :)
– Alenka Co
Very interesting. Don’t quit.
Thank you:) I took a break for about a year, came back with a more objective view for the rewrites ….. I hope …..
– Alenka Co
Whenever I pick up a book the first few pages are the decider of whether to read on or not – I would read on :)
Thank you ……. such a nice surprise to get your comment. It’s what I do, too, when choosing a book. I’m so glad if this first chapter worked for you :)
– Alenka Co