F U T U R E B A R R I E R
( The 2nd Novel )
Secret Technology, Unrequited Love, Absolute Vengeance
© March 2015 Written by David Wicker
Please do not reprint without permission
CHAPTER 27 - "Dev's Wonderful Date"
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This chapter is Rated: EVERYONE
When the elevator door dinged open, I saw Dempsey wheeling out a gurney that had -someone- on it.
But I couldn't tell who it was because they had a plastic lid on it covering someone inside and another opaque cloth on top of that to hide who it was.
I felt it was important to find out who so I tried to lift the covering to look and saw bright red hair from someone sleeping peacefully but was slapped sharply in my face by Stefani.
"Dev ! What if there's someone naked under there ? You wouldn't want to embarrass them OR yourself by gaping at them, would you ?"
"No ma'am." I said truthfully. Dempsey gave me a sinister smile. I think he would've squashed me flat had he found out that me and Stefani were on a date when he was turned down flat by her several days ago. Dempsey watched me for a minute. Had I not been with Stefani I'm certain he would've pounded me into next week for interrupting his job.
I gulped in fear and let him pass. He wheeled by and I could hear tanks of what had to be Tangerine gas blowing inside the plastic tent. I puzzled my lip for a bit when Stefani distracted me by saying, "Dev. I need to talk seriously to you for a minute."
I turned to look at the gurney and then I heard a soft girl's moan and my brain racked itself suddenly trying to remember something. I had heard that moan before, but from where ? I - remembered faintly a scene where I was in bed with Teepo, and there was something about a soft scented pillow that vanished on me, a spaceship, leaking from the top ?
But - I couldn't remember the entire scene. My mind was a blank.
I knew for certain though, THAT was where I heard the exact same moan from. But I was still too tired especially from the fact I hadn't had anything to eat except her damned babyfood for 2-days straight now. I thought of the ice cream and my mouth physically hurt watering and thinking of the delicious taste of it.
I replied back to her, "Yah OK, but let's talk AFTER we have our ice cream."
She sniffed, "Fair enough. Vanilla, right ?" and she smiled at me knowingly before hitting the floor for the elevator. Then she tousled my hair. I nodded eagerly. The elevator traveled on. I heard the soft music in the background. I realized for all the time I had been at Arkos all of the music was instrumental and none of it had any singing in it.
It was elevator music. I laughed a bit to myself but Stefani seemed to be thinking of something else and was preoccupied. The door dinged and we stepped out. Wowee ! I had never been here before !
There were all kinds of counselors each with their assigned child going from one place to the next. Stands were set up everywhere. One place had little Japanese Anime keychains and toys, another pretty colored blouses and shirts, and yet another had different kinds of bagged candy. I looked in the distance and saw there were little fountains with colored lights around them.
It certainly was pretty in here !
I noticed that the children all had a special kind of currency. Little blue coins. I didn't have any. I pointed them out to Stefani and she said, "I don't think you're ready to use currency in Arkos yet, Dev. Don't worry, I'll cover for you."
I nodded and we quickly found the ice cream parlor. It was really pretty, the outside looking like a bowl of ice cream with a big spoon stuck in the plastic roof. It spelled out, "Ice Cream" in brightly colored letters that lit up neon against the night sky.
Well, I knew the sky had to be false as we were underground, but it extended several hundred feet up in the air and they even had little pinholes of light to give the illusion of stars. I looked further and even saw a hologram way up high of the moon. I looked carefully at it. Then I started to feel homesick and cry.
"Dev ! Please don't cry." Stefani said seeing my change in mood. "I have some good news for you, but you need to work with me on this." She leaned down to meet my level so I could cry on her shoulder.
"What's wrong, hun ?" she asked concerned.
* * *
"I'm homesick." I said and boy I guess I was. I missed seeing my Mom, my Dad. I realized that my ultimate BARRIER plan would require mine and Tyr's parents to be in a digital utopia setup by SIM but right now that didn't matter.
"Dev." she said. "I was going to surprise this with you tonight, but I guess it can't wait." she raised my chin so I would look at her. "You're being released from Arkos tomorrow. But I need you to do something for me."
"What's that ?" I asked and rubbed the tears from my eyes.
She gently massaged my back, "Let's have our ice cream first and we'll talk about it. But you really wanted a milkshake, wasn't it ?"
I smiled and added, "A vanilla milkshake with vanilla ice cream on top."
She looked at me curiously, "Isn't that vanilla flavored ?"
I wiggled a finger in my ear like I was confused, "I think so."
She tilted her head. Well, what can I say. I liked vanilla. We got to the tent and she fished in her box purse for two large blue coins that clearly had "1" written on them.
"Two ice cream milkshakes please. One strawberry with vanilla on top. One all vanilla."
"Hokay," the vendor said and slid back the two coins into the register. I looked. There were no dollar bills, it was all the strange blue coins though there were silver ones. He looked at me for a second.
"Never seen one of these yet, kiddo ?" he asked.
I shook my head. "Here ya go." and he reached out and gave me a silver one.
"Wow ! Thanks !" I said and marveled looking at it, but then was disappointed. It had a ".01" written on it and felt like really cheap plastic. Clearly it had the Arkos logo engraved in it though so it was my first real souvenir of this strange place.
Both me and Stefani sat down in the high stools and sipped our ice cream milkshakes quietly for a second, then she spoke.
"Dev, you're not going to be away from me for too long. But I need you to get something for me."
"What ?" I asked and took a refreshing sip. OMIGOD that was so much better than the "babyfood" I was fed the past few days. I sucked another sip, before I spoke, during, and after, so I wouldn't miss any.
Stefani blinked her eyes in surprise at the way I gorged my shake. Surely she knew I couldn't stay only on her babyfood, but I think that's what she wanted for me ultimately.
She smiled and reached in her purse to pull out a piece of paper that had writing on it. She made certain I couldn't see it as she read it. Then she put it back, clicking her purse closed and smiled again.
"Dev, you have something and I don't think it belongs to you. It was sent to you by someone named Darvin who in turn gave it to Tyr, and we think she gave it to you. Does that name sound familiar, 'Darvin ?'"
I shook my head and slurped some more milkshake. Stefani looked cross and took it away from me as I suddenly slurped air and my straw dripped on the counter.
"Hey ! That - " but I stopped when I saw the serious look in her face.
"Dev, this is important. Please pay attention. You want to see your family again, don't you ?"
"Well yeah, but -"
"No buts ! Do you or do you not remember Darvin ?"
I licked my straw which still had ice cream on it and paused in thought. The PLUGIN ! I couldn't let Arkos get that ! How did she find out about Darvin sending it ? So that is what they were after, my damned plugin ! If they took that I couldn't build my perfect barrier !
"I'm waiting." she said angrily. I noticed that she, too, had stopped drinking her milkshake. The ice cream vendor came to look at us and opened his mouth but Stefani faced her open palm to him and then shut it slowly. He sighed, frustrated, he understood the message. Shutup.
"Dev !" she said, losing patience.
"I don't feel so well, can we leave now ?" I said and then stepped off my high stool to look at the ground. D****T ! I couldn't just give them my plugin, but that's what Stefani was talking about.
"Dev." she said getting up and put my straw back in the milkshake and carried it to me. She put her free arm around my back, "Don't you like it here ? Don't you like me ? I'm not the one asking for this. It's from higher up. If it were up to me, I could care less what gadgets you have that Arkos wanted and we could just be together."
"Unfortunately, they can make things very difficult for both of us here if we don't answer their questions so I'm letting you know early we need to resolve this, for both our sakes. You wouldn't want to see me get in trouble, would you ?" she looked down to me with a look of concern.
I lowered my head in defeat, "I know Darvin."
Stefani smiled wide, handing me back my milkshake and massaged my shoulders nicely, "Good. That's what I like to hear. Tell me, what do you know about him ?"
END OF CHAPTER 27
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