Genesis (10 page)

She leaned against the wall of a building, slid down it and sat on the pavement. She was so tired. But she couldn’t stay here. Just a moment’s rest, that was all she needed. Time to think about what to do.

She didn’t realise she’d drifted off until a door slammed somewhere above and she jerked her head up off her chest. She blinked and glanced up. Of course. Why hadn’t she thought of it sooner?

High above her head, the suspension track of the shuttle line glinted silver against the night sky. It ran right to Central station. All she had to do was follow it. She groaned and got to her feet, looked once at the empty street behind, then began to follow the track towards the white glow of Central.

It was more difficult than she’d hoped. Huge apartment complexes kept blocking her way, forcing her to make detours. The streets were so empty and quiet, she began to feel like the only human left alive in the world.

Was this what it felt like on Mars when you were out of the colony? she thought. When they strapped a breather to your face and you were away from the domes, was Mars as silent as this? Was there nothing but the hum of energy behind you and your breath loud in your ears?

The apartments gave way to corporation buildings. Small shops were replaced with glass-fronted stores, four storeys high, the interiors lit with frosty blue lights illuminating racks of goods – mostly electrical and computer supplies.

Sometimes Rosie thought she heard noises behind her and she backed up against the walls, hiding in doorways, but she never saw anyone.

After a while it was all she could do to keep walking. She didn’t have the energy to worry about what was behind her; she just focused on making it to her aunt’s.

The sun was starting to rise when she reached Central, the early light glinting on the massive glass dome that topped the entrance to the Orbitcorp complex. She stopped across the road and looked wearily at it. The huge glass doors were closed, the front steps empty, but there were lights on inside, illuminating the moving sculpture of the solar system that dominated the massive foyer.

Beyond the dome, behind the high walls, the rooftops of the rest of the buildings of Orbitcorp poked up into the pink-washed sky. There were apartments for the employees, offices, workshops, and beyond them four shuttle bays. Orbitcorp occupied a large chunk of Central and it was all locked tight.

Rosie backed into the deep awning of a closed robotics store. She sat slowly down, pulling her knees to her chest and positioning herself so she could see the street.

Her eyes and limbs were heavy with fatigue, her mouth was dry and she felt sick with hunger. Exhausted, she rested her head back against the cool wall; she had hours to wait. Aunt Essie was due for planetfall at nine. The public viewing gallery would open at eight and she guessed right now it was around five if she was lucky. She should stay awake in case, she thought. She shouldn’t sleep here. But that was the last thought she had as her eyelids closed and her head dropped down to her chest.

Pip hid around the corner, peering out every so often to keep an eye on her.

He was surprised she’d made it. He munched on a strip of dried meat and watched Rosie hunched in the corner of the doorway. She was a mess and a twinge of guilt hit him. Her hair was all tangled and she still had mud on her shorts. She looked so small there by herself. Alone. It made him feel things he didn’t want to feel. Things that could make his job harder.

Riley would be pissed he hadn’t taken her to his safe house but Pip was sure he’d be able to talk him around.

He bit savagely on the dried meat. Why had that other girl got killed? It had been unnecessary. He hated it when people were killed.

He stayed watching Rosie a moment longer, then slunk away into a nearby access tunnel.

He headed to the Game Pit in the Western Rim. Built underground, it was dim, cheap and the staff would sometimes sell him beer. Plus it was off the radar – a wholly zero surveillance zone – and Senate or whoever couldn’t get a look-in. It was a perfect hide-out.

He hunched down in a game pod and munched on a hot chip. It was greasy and stale and had a chemical aftertaste, but it helped him think.

It bothered him that he couldn’t get the girl out of his head. Rosie hunched over in the doorway, Rosie wiping mud off her face, Rosie saying those things to him.

She had no idea about him, not really. He hated that it bothered him.

“Thought I’d find you here.” A voice spoke quietly.

Pip turned to see Riley behind him. He looked angry. Pip tried to judge if he was gunning for a fight. It wasn’t usually Riley’s style but you never knew when you pushed someone. And he’d deliberately disobeyed him. “How’d you know about this place?”

Riley ignored the question. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else?” he said.

Pip shrugged. “She pissed me off – I had to drop her. But don’t worry, I know where she is. She went to her aunt’s place.”

Riley put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it hard then, leaning down close to his ear, said, “Get up.”

“All right, all right.” Pip got to his feet. “Why’s it so important anyway? You got the stuff you wanted.”

Riley put his hand tightly on the back of Pip’s neck and steered him towards the door. “Where is her aunt’s?”

“Orbitcorp.”

“Great,” Riley muttered under his breath and pushed Pip out the door. “Let’s go then.”

Rosie woke to something hard prodding her side and a nasally voice saying, “Get up!”

She blinked and squinted up at a pudgy man with a pink, sweaty face who was prodding her with the toe of his shoe.

“Get up,” he grunted again.

Rosie struggled to her feet. Her eyes felt gritty and she swayed dizzily for a second.

“Move it, before I call the Senate.” The man pointed to the street and she stumbled out from under the portico into the sunlight. Behind her the man mumbled something about Ferals as he unlocked the shop door.

Rosie looked down at herself. Dried mud stained her shorts, her T-shirt was grubby and creased, and the long-sleeved shirt she wore over the top was wrinkled and splattered with mud. She supposed she did resemble a Feral, sleeping in a doorway and using her bag for a pillow.

She stood on the kerb. It had to be near opening time now. Bleary-eyed, she stepped out onto the road and was almost knocked over by a hovercar. It whirred past, the driver sounding the horn and glaring at her from his climate-controlled interior.

Rosie jumped back onto the kerb. She was definitely awake now. There were more people in the street and a steady stream of hovercars were buzzing quietly up and down the road. Those she met eyes with cut their gazes away quickly as if she didn’t exist. Rosie began to feel uncomfortable. She pulled her shirt over her T-shirt and watched for a break in the traffic, then she jogged across the road to Orbitcorp. There wasn’t anywhere to hide so she settled for standing as inconspicuously as possible near the doors. She peered through the glass. There were people in there. Was it open?

She moved to stand directly in front of the double doors but nothing happened. She waved her arms up at the motion sensor. The doors stayed closed.

She went back down a few steps, checking left, then right. There. At the far left corner, a single door was open and a few people were entering through it.

She lined up behind three men. The last one turned and glanced down at her in surprise. “Hello. Are you an employee of Orbitcorp?” He raised an eyebrow.

“I’m here to meet my aunt.” Rosie noticed a large guard armed with a gun near the entrance.

“Really?” The man looked bemused. “Then you’ll need one of these.” He waved a plascard at her. It was some kind of ID.

Rosie’s heart sank. “But I’m just going to the shuttle bay.”

“New rules. No one gets in without a pass.” He gave her a rueful smile and turned away.

Since when? There seemed to be more and more rules every day. Aunt Essie couldn’t have known or she’d have got Rosie a pass. She studied the man in front her. He was about forty, with wavy black hair and caramel-brown skin, his natural colour though, not tanned.

She tugged on the back of his dark purple jacket. “Excuse me,” she said quietly.

He turned to her. “You still here?”

“Could you help me? My aunt is coming in from the space station today and she told me to meet her.” She hesitated. “I know I don’t look very good. I had an accident – that’s why I’m so dirty. But if I don’t meet her, she’ll be worried. She didn’t know I’d need an ID card.”

The man considered her for a minute. “You know you could be mistaken for a Feral, don’t you?” he said.

Rosie nodded. “Yes, but–”

“But you’ve got much better manners than Ferals have,” he interrupted. “So you might be telling the truth. What’s your aunt’s name?”

“Um.” Rosie didn’t want to tell him, but if she made up a name and he knew people, he’d know she was lying. “Essie Black,” she said. “She’s a pilot.”

“Black?” He frowned slightly. “The name is familiar.”

“Sir?” They’d reached the front of the line and the guard was holding his hand out for the pass. His eyes went to Rosie and narrowed. “She can’t come in here.”

“I’ll decide that,” said the man to the guard. His voice was sharp and Rosie felt a little scared jolt inside. But then the man smiled blandly at her.

“Come,” he put an arm out, “I’ll show you to the dock. Your aunt’s coming in from the space station, you said?”

Rosie nodded, moving with him past the guard.

“That will be dock fourteen. This way.”

He drew her across the wide foyer towards a bank of lifts.

People gave her surprised glances, quickly smothered when they saw the man she was with, and Rosie began to wonder if she should have trusted this stranger. But she was in, at least, and the time display said it was just after eight, so she didn’t have long to wait. Nervously, she followed him into the shiny silver lift and turned to face the doors as they closed. Besides, what could happen to her here? She folded her arms about herself and smiled at the man in the purple suit as he selected the floor.

It was further than she remembered to the shuttle dock. They went from the lift, down a long glass-covered walkway to another building, then down again and through another walkway, through gardens to yet another building and then another. By the time they reached the dock, Rosie was disorientated.

The man hardly spoke as they walked. He stopped once to show her to a bathroom and gave her a bottle of water, but he didn’t ask her any questions other than her name.

The longer they walked, the wearier she felt. When they reached the shuttle waiting area, he led her to a seat, patted her firmly on the shoulder and left. After he’d gone Rosie realised she didn’t even know his name.

The waiting area was a long glass-fronted building that looked down at the dock. Rows of blue cushioned seats, grouped in lots of four, were placed throughout the room. Behind her, near the door, was a small shop.

When she’d visited before, there had been about one hundred people to watch the landing. Now, the shop was closed and only five other people were waiting for the shuttle. They were all dressed in white jackets and conferring over coms, which meant they were probably scientists. After a single, measuring glance, they ignored her and Rosie sat by herself on one of the chairs, hugging the water bottle and staring out of the window at the empty shuttle pad.