The Cryo Killer (3 page)
Authors: Jason Werbeloff
Paul drives back from the golf course every
afternoon in his convertible Mercedes E750. There’s a long and
lonely stretch of road just outside the golf course. A stretch of
road that could suffer an exploding vehicle without causing any
casualties other than the death of the driver.
I’d take care of that with a bomb on a
timer. And while Paul was meeting his end, I’d be with Inesa, at
her home. At our home. I put through an order this morning for an
amnesia serum from Dr. Hanfan. “One squirt and she be wonderin’
what her name is,” he’d said. But she won’t wonder long. The gas
leak will take care of her and me. I’ll find my way to the back of
the house before I pass out. Leave Inesa in the kitchen where Daisy
can spot her from the front door when she arrives for dinner.
Paramedics will have no reason to think it’s not Paul who’s dead in
the next room. Daisy won’t be allowed inside, and nobody cares
enough about him to identify Paul’s body at the Cryo Bureau.
I squint at the time. 05:18.
All that’s left to do tomorrow is get a
duplicate of Paul’s ID and driver’s license, so I can have it on me
when the paramedics arrive. Doug is pretty quick with these things.
I can pick it up on my way into work with Janet. She collects me
every Friday morning. We frequent the croissants at the twenty-four
hour bakery on Grant Avenue. Sort of become a tradition. She’ll be
here in less than an hour.
I feel a pang of regret at the thought that
tomorrow will be the last time I see Janet. I sneeze again before
the regret grows. Feel nauseous now. Probably more like stomach flu
than a cold.
I wonder what it’ll be like to wake up in
twenty years beside Inesa. I’ve never been a fan of the future. But
Inesa – hell, Inesa is worth twenty years. She’s worth a hundred.
She won’t remember me, or anything else, when she wakes from Cryo.
But I’ll remember her. She’ll love me. I know she will.
God, my head hearts.
Mustn’t forget to ask Doug to expunge Paul’s
dental records from any databases before that useless excuse for a
man dies in the explosion tomorrow.
The nausea’s getting worse. I stumble out of
bed. Dizzy as hell. Confused, I stagger toward the bedroom window,
rather than to the bathroom. I look down to see two slender figures
scampering across the lawn.
Is that? … I could swear. Yes, one of them
is Inesa. And the other? The other … I know that pig nose and lumpy
thighs. It’s Daisy.
My chest heaves, and I throw up on the
windowsill. But not before I remember why Inesa’s face looks so
familiar. The bridge of her nose. Those narrow eyes. Why hadn’t I
seen it before? She’s Roberto’s kid. My old mentor, Roberto. The
only Cryo Killer better than I am.
I must’ve asked him to kill me. Asked him
for the New Year Special. And like any competent Cryo Killer,
Roberto would’ve wiped my memory of the meeting.
Inesa. She’s the kid who does his killings
these days.
I sink to the carpet. Struggle and fail to
cough up the vomit that’s found its way down my trachea. Gas
poisoning will do that to a man. I have time to manage a smile, the
Big Daddy, before my head hits the floor and the world fades to
obsidian.
But only for twenty years.
###
Jason Werbeloff
If you enjoyed
The
Cryo Killer
, take a look at
Hedon
, by the same
author.
In post-apocalyptic
Shangri, happiness is compulsory, strictly monitored by a hedometer
implanted in your brain. Become depressed, or feel too happy
without helping others feel the same, and The Tax Man will get
angry. Very angry.
The lovechild of
Brave New World
and
The Handmaid’s Tale
,
Hedon
is gritty satire on a dystopia drunk with bigotry and positive
thinking.
Click here to download
the book:
http://www.jasonwerbeloff.com/hedon/
Turn the page for more book recommendations …
Thank you for reading my short story. Have you
registered for Cryo preservation yet? Which parts of the story did
you like best? Your feedback is crucial to my growth as a writer.
Please leave a brief review on your favored online retailer.
If you liked
The
Cryo Killer
, you’ll love my novel,
The Solace Pill
. In
2249, 3D printers are capable of scanning and printing humans. Life
on Earth becomes overpopulated, bullet-paced, and stressed.
Thankfully, Solace Inc has the solution: a pill which slows the
user’s perception of time, and blots out the interminable busy-ness
of the world.
But Anders has
modified the latest batch of Solace Pills. And this modification is
going to change everything ...
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Yours in future
Jason Werbeloff
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