Raic
Attention.
Attention.
All local dwellings are to be closed by twenty-two hundred hours. Curfew is in effect. Curfew is in effect.
Attention.
Attention.
All local dwellings are to be closed by twenty-two.
The shot shattered the speaker. I rolled my eyes at Kerin as he tucked the gun away.
“That’ll just bring them this way, and the guard will find that slinger.”
“I don’t really care,” Kerin said. “I just needed to think and he was pissing me off.” He slumped against the building, landing in a puddle and spraying the already soaked neon signs with more water. One sparked, flickered, then reignited in defiance.
I groaned, and tapped the side of the building, letting my mesh network connect to the local grid.
“You could have just asked. Already found the adjustable volume. Besides, I can still hear the speaker down the way.”
“Shut it, Geen. I’m thinking.”
This was getting useless. I tried to find the controls for the speaker at the other end of the alley. Less noise, more likely I’d hear if the guard was on their way. I’d bolt and leave his ass here if he wanted to mop in prison.
“So,” I asked, “What are you thinking of?”
Didn’t think he was going to reply until I saw the light start to change. The neon signs wavered and my own scopes flickered as he focused. I could see her then, her long coat sleek with the rain, the useless umbrella letting the rain soak into her hair. She was smiling this time; always a good sign. But she wasn’t looking at us. Just smiling and walking through the edge of the puddle Kerin sat in.
“Mate,” I started.
“I know. I just can’t keep her from forming in this rain. She always loved it.”
He looked at her with such reverence, deifying her, watching her so intently he was missing her warning. I knew her look though, and the warning flickers her hands were doing. Just a few snaps of her fingers on the hand holding the umbrella. I grabbed Kerin and yanked him up.
“Gene, knock it off. I know she’s not here, but we can.”
“Nothing. You’re so oblivious that Raic is giving you the hard warning sign and you’re not evening noticing. Gods, even from the grave she’s having me look after you.”
“What? I, oh shit.” He started off down the alley as the sirens could really be heard over the rain. I took one look back to the fading illusion.
“Thanks Raic. Not sure how I’ll pay it back this time but I owe you another one.”
“Raic” by J Samuel Diehl is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Sound effects used can be found at freesound.org :
Ending music is “Home Outbound,” by Anne Garner, from the album Long Journey Here, available at magnatune.com
“Raic” was inspired by Fantasy Vs Sci-Fi, by Denimecho.