Two Weeks Notice
I was going insane.
Where was Zack? Why hadn't he contacted me? Two weeks never went by without at least an e-mail from my big brother letting me know he was alive if not okay. Was this some kind of test? Or was he in serious trouble?
"Damn you, Zack." I repeated for the tenth time that day.
It wasn't that I was angry with Zack. It was more that I was angry about worrying.
"What'd you say?" my roommate asked.
I glanced at her briefly. My roommate, Trish, was a seventeen-year-old alcoholic. She never really noticed when I disappeared or even when I was there. Which suited me perfectly.
"Nothing, Trish. I need some air. You want something to eat?" I asked.
"Sure." she said as she popped open a can of beer.
She was starting early tonight. She'd be drunk by the time I got back. I sighed. I'd probably spend tomorrow cleaning up beer cans and vomit.
I left the building without another to Trish. Our "home" was one of the old southwestern style houses. It was very small and had fallen into a state of disrepair so bad that I had given up all hope of it ever looking like a respectable building.
Still the neighborhood was quiet. Criminal dealings were all done under-the-table so no one really knew of it. Of course, we weren't so naive as to think it wasn't there. Especially in this part of the sector where law enforcement never seemed to reach.
All and all, it was pretty clean. Nothing to do, no one to get attached to, nothing to worry about. Except the welfare of your genetically-enhanced big brother. But I guess that was just my problem.
I walked down the alley and out onto the street. The sun was setting. The streetlights were already coming on. I paused for a moment by one of said streetlights in the vain hope that Zack would just show up. I would blink and he would be there, apologizing for not having arrived sooner. I was really worried.
After the sun had completely disappeared below the horizon and I had berated myself viciously in disgust for being such a weakling, I continued up the street, hands planted deep in my jacket pockets. I ignored the lone bicyclist, the barking dog, and the noises of a couple having a loud dispute.
I purchased two doubtful looking meals from a fast food place and ate mine without relish. If only he had told me the location of one, just one, of the X-5's. Then I could find them. They would know how to contact Zack.
I thought back to the first time Zack had left me here.
"You will remain here, understood?" he had said.
I had still been hesitant to respond to anything less than an order despite Zack's attempts to the contrary.
"Yes..." I said, remembering to stop before I said 'sir!'.
"I will contact you soon to make sure that you are alright. It should never be more than two weeks between contacts. If it's been two weeks...you are to presume that I've either been captured or killed. You'll be on your own, little sister."
"Yes...Zack." I had said.
It might have been my imagination, but I thought I caught him smile before he left. That had been the first time I had ever called him by his name,
"No," I told myself out loud, drawing myself back to the present, "he's not dead."
I ruled out capture automatically. I knew Zack would kill himself before he let Manticore take him back.
I bit into my dead cow meat covered with bread (commonly known as a burger although I found the name ridiculous) again angrily. How could I let myself think that? I had more self-control than that. It wouldn't happen again.
I was about to take another equally aggressive bite when something suddenly occurred to me. I threw my...burger...to the ground and spun on the closest human being. I slammed the guy into a wall and held him there.
"You. Where's the Space Needle?" I demanded.
He blubbered and finally spit out an answer.
"Seattle. Washington."
I released him and was gone before he recovered his wits. I was soon back to where I had started from.
"Here's your food, Trish. I'm leaving for awhile. Might not be back." I said as I hastily shoved everything I owned into a backpack.
Trish just grunted. Either she didn't understand me or she didn't care. Probably both. Not that it mattered much to me.
So I left, taking enough of Trish's alcohol money to get me on a bus. I was finally going to get to meet the sister Zack talked about so much. I was going to meet Max. Why hadn't I thought of this sooner?
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