screen hard and it went dark, the orange forum disappearing.
Proof. Rescue. She put her hand on her belly. There was new life inside her.
“Take photo,” she said to the watch. The screen blinked to life, showing her own face staring back at her, miniaturised and frozen.
Lily got to her feet and ran back down the hill.
Lily crept between the tanks. The little windows which showed the bright contents of the tanks faced away from the door. She would have to go up there, where the desks were. There was almost always someone in the barn. Brian barely seemed to sleep these days, and Annie and Mark liked to work at night, while Leonard had spent each day in the barn for as long as she could remember.
She rolled her sleeve down to hide the watch and walked up between the tanks. She knew them by the shape of their bodies. Brian, Mark and Leonard were all there, hanging from the ceiling in their dirty off–white VR suits. She moved as quickly as she dared. At any moment any one of them could decide to take a break from their virtual work and look out through the suit’s sensors.
They were silent. If they were speaking in VR it was subvocalised.
Lily crept forward until she was underneath them. She had to turn her back to get all the vats in. Her skin crawled to think of the three of them hanging behind her. “Photo,” Lily said, as softly as she could, and the screen of the watch changed to show the floor on the other side of her wrist. She tilted it to take in the big vats of ink, the tanks for the cow blood, the huge air conditioning units. Annie’s potted bush. The yellow hazmat signs on the vats.
She tapped the screen once. Nothing happened.
She said, "Take photo,” and the screen flashed for a moment, freezing the image on her wrist. She tiptoed out of the barn, again covering her watch with her sleeve, and stepped out into the courtyard. She closed the door and then ducked behind a barrel – Tom and Annie were in the middle of the courtyard, talking.
“Are you insane?” Annie said.
“It’s fine,” said Tom.
“For god’s sake! It’ll stick out like a sore thumb if they detect it up here!”
“But there’s no connection! It’s just something to take her mind off things. She’s getting desperate.”
“Tom, we have to get it off her straight away, if you want to give her a present – Lily?”
Lily gasped and crouched down lower.
“I can see you,” Annie said. “Come out, for god’s sake.”
Lily turned away, still crouched, and followed the row of barrels towards the bushes. She heard footsteps, heard Annie say “I definitely saw her, I’m getting Brian,” and she pushed into the bush, shoving her way through, thorns scratching at her. Once she was out the other side, her arms bleeding, she ran across the garden, climbed over the wall at the back and sprinted up into the trees.
There was a shout from behind and she ran, climbing again, climbing, climbing. She tapped at the screen as she ran. It glowed orange — no signal . She scrambled upwards, the noise of breaking branches behind her. Who was that? Not Brian, surely, he was too fat. Tom might be able to keep up. She glanced over her shoulder, and could see nothing, so she ran on, up and up, her lungs starting to burn, birds yelping in fright and flying out of their hiding places.
Lily turned right and ran along the level for a while, jumping over a big rock and scrambling down the other side, on over a thin brook, almost falling back but grabbing handfuls of wet grass on the other side and hauling herself up and over. Back on her feet and on through trees. She knew the forest better than any of them, she was sure of it, she just had to get high enough to get a signal and she could send the photo out.
Climbing again. There were fewer trees now and the ground was harder, big stones spattered with moss jutting up through the ground. A strong cold breeze was blowing from the south but Lily was warm enough from the running that she
Proof. Rescue. She put her hand on her belly. There was new life inside her.
“Take photo,” she said to the watch. The screen blinked to life, showing her own face staring back at her, miniaturised and frozen.
Lily got to her feet and ran back down the hill.
Lily crept between the tanks. The little windows which showed the bright contents of the tanks faced away from the door. She would have to go up there, where the desks were. There was almost always someone in the barn. Brian barely seemed to sleep these days, and Annie and Mark liked to work at night, while Leonard had spent each day in the barn for as long as she could remember.
She rolled her sleeve down to hide the watch and walked up between the tanks. She knew them by the shape of their bodies. Brian, Mark and Leonard were all there, hanging from the ceiling in their dirty off–white VR suits. She moved as quickly as she dared. At any moment any one of them could decide to take a break from their virtual work and look out through the suit’s sensors.
They were silent. If they were speaking in VR it was subvocalised.
Lily crept forward until she was underneath them. She had to turn her back to get all the vats in. Her skin crawled to think of the three of them hanging behind her. “Photo,” Lily said, as softly as she could, and the screen of the watch changed to show the floor on the other side of her wrist. She tilted it to take in the big vats of ink, the tanks for the cow blood, the huge air conditioning units. Annie’s potted bush. The yellow hazmat signs on the vats.
She tapped the screen once. Nothing happened.
She said, "Take photo,” and the screen flashed for a moment, freezing the image on her wrist. She tiptoed out of the barn, again covering her watch with her sleeve, and stepped out into the courtyard. She closed the door and then ducked behind a barrel – Tom and Annie were in the middle of the courtyard, talking.
“Are you insane?” Annie said.
“It’s fine,” said Tom.
“For god’s sake! It’ll stick out like a sore thumb if they detect it up here!”
“But there’s no connection! It’s just something to take her mind off things. She’s getting desperate.”
“Tom, we have to get it off her straight away, if you want to give her a present – Lily?”
Lily gasped and crouched down lower.
“I can see you,” Annie said. “Come out, for god’s sake.”
Lily turned away, still crouched, and followed the row of barrels towards the bushes. She heard footsteps, heard Annie say “I definitely saw her, I’m getting Brian,” and she pushed into the bush, shoving her way through, thorns scratching at her. Once she was out the other side, her arms bleeding, she ran across the garden, climbed over the wall at the back and sprinted up into the trees.
There was a shout from behind and she ran, climbing again, climbing, climbing. She tapped at the screen as she ran. It glowed orange — no signal . She scrambled upwards, the noise of breaking branches behind her. Who was that? Not Brian, surely, he was too fat. Tom might be able to keep up. She glanced over her shoulder, and could see nothing, so she ran on, up and up, her lungs starting to burn, birds yelping in fright and flying out of their hiding places.
Lily turned right and ran along the level for a while, jumping over a big rock and scrambling down the other side, on over a thin brook, almost falling back but grabbing handfuls of wet grass on the other side and hauling herself up and over. Back on her feet and on through trees. She knew the forest better than any of them, she was sure of it, she just had to get high enough to get a signal and she could send the photo out.
Climbing again. There were fewer trees now and the ground was harder, big stones spattered with moss jutting up through the ground. A strong cold breeze was blowing from the south but Lily was warm enough from the running that she
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