Artifact 37: Reunited?

Josh tried to hit upon the site of the EMP/Black hole anomaly, and there perchance, find his cargo and the thief Dawn as well—unless she was zapped to another universe!

Running blind after finding his computer had gotten zapped, Josh tried to hit upon the site of the EMP/Black hole anomaly, and there perchance, find his cargo and the thief Dawn as well�"unless she’s in another friggin’ universe.

 

            So Josh pressed on.

With no Public Safety lights in his rear view after his venting high speed rush, all systems were go with at least the car’s analog features. With still plenty of gas for a couple of hours he convinced himself to relax. Without his computer, he wasn’t going to access the information he needed concerning the anomaly knowing already that much of, if not all, that information had been suppressed by the PTB (Powers That Be). With his hopes pretty much dashed, he stuck the ear pieces in his ears and turned on his analog SkyMuzak player. At least that didn’t get zapped along with the computer. ‘Cars’ by Gary Newman played.  He remembered liking that song when he downloaded it.

Josh drove on for hours.   

            Once, a noisy old hopped-up Honda with a teenager at the wheel buzzed alongside pacing him giving Josh the thumbs up. The youngster pointed ahead vigorously. 

“I don’t think I’m into street racing in the middle of nowhere,” Josh mumbled, shook his head and just maintained his speed. The kid shrugged, geared down, and floored it accelerating out away from Josh. “Yeah, no cruise control or safe following for you, youthful PS fodder.”

Josh controlled his speed, stayed in his lane, and acted as his car ran locked tight onto the highway control system.

             After putting on a bunch more kilometers, another sunset approached with the glaring sunset reflected off a thousand lakes. His bypass route was coming up with his fuel getting low so he searched for a gas stop.  He pulled out his earpieces and hung them on the dashboard with the player. Traffic out there continued on the light side with just a few families in their E-Vans and S-SUVs maybe on vacation. A caravan or two passed going the other way, but they were few and far between. 

“Pretty slow out here,” Josh reassured himself. “Yeah, maybe a pipedream to find that cargo or Dawn making it pretty much a wild goose chase, huh?” He shook his head realizing he was rehashing topics aloud that had no answers at the present moment.

            The sun dipped down behind the low hills during a crystal-clear sky sunset. Not very colorful, just a few high cirrus clouds reflecting silver linings.  A sign of positive aspects to come? Josh doubted it. A sign announced a petrol dispensing station up ahead a few kilometers. There we go, Josh thought. 

            The time slipped by seemingly in snail-paced seconds until he finally saw the station up ahead on the left.  He pulled off the ramp, across the overpass, and into the pump area. The station area was brightly lit in the twilight hours and very clean. A few other customers either pumped gas or were inside getting some snacks. He sighed hoping this fill up ended up better than the last. That incident seemed like a year ago to Josh now.

            Josh followed the routine of the ‘pay inside’ selection and recalling the previous fill up, he took in a breath hoping for the best.  Probably few people use cash these days and so set the stage for unsavory characters like the one that managed the other dispensing station. As Josh pumped, he smelled what he thought was cigarette smoke wafting by. Of course, he thought of Dawn and her cigarette habit. It was a rare occurrence, the smell of smoke, so he looked quickly around trying to see where the smoke was coming from though didn’t see anyone smoking a real cigarette.  Kind of makes you really nervous when you smell smoke while pumping gas, Josh reflected.

 He completed filling his tank. Walking into the storefront, a young couple walked out drinking Vintage Cokes. He decided that was a good idea and went back to the cooler area and pulled out a liter. He paused a second hearing the squawk of a scanner from somewhere within the tight little Fuel Mart. He assumed there might be a lot of scanner activity out here along the highway. There was a clear view across the tarmac, so keeping a wary eye on the car Josh also picked up a sandwich and a bag of chocolate cookies.  A far stretch from those hardy square meals at the Milfords Josh considered, but it’ll do for now. 

            A pleasant looking middle-aged woman worked behind the counter with a teenaged boy stocking shelves in the rear who seemed preoccupied with something out the window.  The woman seemed to notice Josh’s attention.

 “Young men,” she said pointing and smirking.  “Interested in the young ladies.” 

            Josh smiled back not seeing where the young man’s focused attention, so just said “Pump on eight. Ah a hundred and two…cash okay?” 

            “Sure thing, honey. Norte-dollars?”

 “Oh, Amero dollars.”

 “Better yet. No stinking exchange rate, huh,” the woman said.

            “You bet,” Josh said with a grin.

            Josh did a double take when he saw the young stocker’s focus. Outside, the young girl had her back to the store window but had dark, no, jet black hair in braids curled around her head like a silken black rope with the same backpack, jeans, and boots as Josh remembered.

 “No, couldn’t be.” Josh mumbled looking at who he thought had to be Dawn.

“Pardon me, hon?” The woman inquired.  

            “Nothing, just thinking out loud.”

 “Like a bag for your things?”

            “Oh, yeah...sure thanks.”

            With that, Josh picked up his change and the bag and strolled out the door, wondering about the girl that could be Dawn, but glancing back at the car too, and saw that no one was around it. He thought he should confront her right off the bat, but he was hungry 

             “Hey, Mister!  How are ‘ya?”  Said the familiar but disquieting voice. Josh jolted with recognition of the voice. His adrenaline spiked along with his anger. He turned.

            “You. You!” He said fuming not able to hold it back. “What’s this? Hanging out at dispensing stations a thing with you and waiting around to steal some unsuspecting guy’s stuff?”  

            “Stealing? Naa, not MY thing,” she said simply. “Only a coincidence I’m here and you’re here�"right? So we’re here at the same time.” With a wide grin, the girl shrugged. “BeTeeDoubleYou, what took you so long to get here? You go by way of United Canada?” She giggled. “I walked halfway here after a trucker broad got fresh with me, and I bailed ASAP.  Tell you what, you think you’re safe staying away from the usual problematic guys and then that happens. Crazy days, indeed.”

            “Oh, right…I had car problems and got delayed, but to the point�"where’s my stuff?”

            She seemed to ignore his inquiry. “Don’t tell me that thing has mechanical malfunctions.”

 She nodded toward the car, and then blew a huge bubble gum bubble that popped across her chin and nose.  She tongued the feathery pink bubble fragments back into her mouth and chewed again, snapping the air pockets with her mouth open, making an obvious statement that Josh picked up on. 

            “Yeah, you know�"stuff happens,” Josh said eying her with disdain. “So�"what happened to your death sticks?”

            “Mean cigarettes?  Ahhh, mmm, quit.”

            “C’mon, like that�"in what, two days?” Josh said, snapping his fingers.

            “Yeah. Cold turkey,” she nodded, smiled, snapped her fingers, and blew another bubble that popped over on her chin. She nodded while licking up the sticky goo with the tip of her tongue. She looked at him and looked at the car. She looked poised to say something�"  

  Josh just looked at her squarely and seriously. “For the second time�"no, you can’t.”

            “What ‘sha mean, I can’t, man?”

            “You were going to ask to ride along with me.” He answered backing a few steps, then, turned to start walking toward the car.

            “Ohhhhhhhwweeee,” she whined.  “But I can help you. You need me.”

            Josh let out his breath out audibly between his lips and faced her. “I need you? What to rip me off again?”

“What do ya’ think I have of yours anyway? I got nuthin’ of yours. Want ‘ta look? Search my bod?” The slim young teen said turning to him sideways and striking a pose.

            Josh didn’t react. “Don’t act all innocent with me, miss sticky fingers, and I don’t mean with bubble gum. And MY needing YOU? I don’t think so!” He answered pointing to himself and then her.

He reached out and flicked off a fleck of pink goo off her cheek. A tingle went through his hand. He snatched his hand away as she twisted her head away. Josh contemplated the sensation�"one that he had felt before. 

            She turned and looked him hard, straight in the eyes.  “Why do you need me? I’m a world-class hacker.”

            “Oh really.” Josh said, raising his eyes heavenward.  “And that’s why I need you?”  He paused with the coincidental insight. “Why would I need a hacker like you anyway, miss world-class?” He did the pointing to himself and to her again.   “B’sides, I got enough problems as it is, sis.”

            “And, and I can protect you too.” 

            “Provide comic relief maybe, but protect ME? Doubtful,” Josh said, smiling while looking down the length of her. “Let’s see, karate, Jujitsu, or something cool like that, huh?

            “Heck no, that’s sissy stuff,” she said, backing up and tightening her waist belt on her backpack. She squatted quickly and sprung up, flipping backwards heels over head, spun a 360 on her toes, sprang forward and suddenly brandishing a Samurai sword, swished the air over Josh’s head.

            The sprite-like teenager stood there motionless with legs spread wide, feet arched high standing on her toes griping the sword with whitened knuckles hands together and her right forearm twisted over the left in a thrust pose. Josh eyes opened wide; he studied the tight, sinewy muscles in her forearms, the biceps taut like fine, high-tensile cables.    

            Josh stood his ground with feet firmly planted, but he took on a hard look as well, not unlike a cobra ready to strike. He smiled and relaxed. “S**t! Where’d that thing come from?”

            With a gleam in her eye and a satisfied grin, “Back pack: I usually get more of a reaction than what you gave me. Tells me sumthin.’”  

They both looked around and seen the man at the pumps and the hormonal young stocker staring with their mouths open.  She reached over her head and guided the sword back into the backpack with her right hand.  Josh noticed she was left-handed. She flipped the cover over the sword’s handle and relaxed.

“Well…convinced?”

             “Yeah, I guess, but your demonstration doesn’t really change your status.   You’re obviously underage, obviously on the road by your lonesome, and you’re wielding an obviously illegal weapon. So in all probability, you’re obviously a runaway or a delinquent on the run. Not to mention you stole my stuff.”

            “Your stuff again. What stuff?” She asked looking sincere and all. “And your point of pointing all that delinquent business out?”

            “I don’t need any attention heat from the PS guys. One look at us, and they’ll assume kidnapping or molestation. You can figure that out.”

            “Possibly that could happen,” she said matter-of-factly. “But not probable.  My foster parents are liberal free-thinkers. They let me do whatever I want as long as there’s no PS record, and I call them every two weeks.”

  “Whatever. Doesn’t change my answer, miss sword-bearing, bubblegum popping, liberal roadster princess,” Josh said turning and walking toward his car. He eyed her aside with disquiet wondering about his cargo and the reported anomaly.

            The cute, dodgy girl flaunted a phony pout for a second but quickly re-brightened. “But I’m multi-talented, remember?”

            “Yeah, you got that going for you.”

            “Hey, mister,” called the young stocker from the mart door. He trotted up out of breath. “I just heard on the scanner that the PS is watching for a single guy in a fast car.” He scanned Josh’s hypercar. “Sound like trouble? Cuz’ there’s a cruiser headed this way!”

            “Thanks kid, we got it covered. Now buzz off!” She said over her shoulder.

The young guy turned rather pink and ambled away.

Josh thought on this young female’s audacity and wondered if she might be more trouble than she was…well, anyway, something just didn’t add up with her…