The Last Ferry (Part IV)
(Serial Flash Sci-fi) "There were many narrow dwellings in rows. Human-sized tubes stacked like honeycomb."
The Last Ferry (Part IV)
by Annie Hendrix
The string ensemble’s warm swell of sonic patterns carried on through the collective pause created by Marcus’s fall from the ladder. The flattened faces of the partygoers blurred in a crowd around the perimeter of an imaginary circle which contained Marcus, the yellow folding Hazard sign, and the blue and silver ladder that stretched toward the open vent in the ceiling. The guests looked from Marcus to the open vent then at each other and murmured.
Marcus put his hands flat on the glass floor beneath him and pushed himself up. As soon as he started to raise his torso the Snoop pinned him back down by pressing its metal legs into the sensitive nerves beneath his shoulder blades. The pain screamed white-hot, and blood throbbed in the crown of his head.
“Marcus?” The old man from the Earth-bound elevator pushed through the crowd and crouched over him, the colorful woven fibers in the crotch of his wool suit discernible. The man touched his temple. “Cornelius to Jana.”
A pause.
“Go for Jana.”
“Who is responsible for this atrocity on the dance floor?”
“I don’t know, sir.”
“Get someone on this immediately.”
“Copy.”
“Can you stand up on your own?” The old man said something to the Snoop in a language Marcus didn’t understand, then the metal dog released Marcus from the pin and backed away. Marcus rose to his feet, but when he looked through the floor at the earth below, nausea gripped him from the outside in, grabbed his stomach, and twisted.
“Steady,” the old man put his arm around Marcus.
“Is he going to be alright?” asked the woman in the tutu.
The string quartet ended and the ensemble paused, each player’s bow suspended momentarily in the air above the strings. The hum and clatter of the kitchen sang for several awkward moments, then a deep voice among the crowd shouted, “Can someone turn down the gravity in here?” and the room broke into sharp laughter, then erupted in loud unbothered conversation.
Cornelius supported Marcus as they pushed through the crowd. They passed the kitchen and the doors burst open. There was Angel, holding a large metal tray nearly overflowing with Lava Pretzels. The smell of freshly baked bread and nacho cheese wafted from the swinging kitchen door. Marcus’s hunger ached in his throat. His cheeks wept saliva as his fingers reached toward the tray. “Angel,” he begged, but she ignored him.
“I can walk.” Marcus tried to stand on his own, but Cornelius maintained a strong grip around his bicep and torso. The Snoop followed as Cornelius led them through the hallway and into the staff quarters where there were many narrow dwellings in rows. Human-sized tubes stacked like honeycomb.
“Is this where the staff live?”
“365 days a year.”
“They don’t ever get to go home?”
“Contracts vary. But many of them are like you, Marcus. Many of them don’t have homes to return to.”
To be continued…
More Fiction by Annie Hendrix:
The Last Ferry (Part I)
(Short Science Fiction) "He wanted a pretzel. He could taste the salt on his tongue, the oozy velvet cheese gushing into his mouth after taking a bite. How did they get the cheese inside?"
Moon Dollars
(Short Fiction) Stan’s repair shop occupied the far south corner of Main Street in the small coastal town of Shore Cliff. The other storefronts were empty, abandoned one by one as the …
Truthstack
(Dystopian Fiction) Nina dragged herself away from the exposed sidewalk and rolled down a grassy slope as bombs two, three, and four took down the Old Cathedral and debris whizzed over her head.