The Golden Crunk of Cringle Page 7

  Daneb stepped away and squatted deeper into the shadows while the door swung wide from a frustrated shove.

  The woman's words at last slipped into the open. "Are you sure it's her?"

  "Maybe," his quarry grumbled, and shut the door.

  Daneb counted the heavy footfalls of the man until they turned to an uneven, sliding sidestep. If they knew where Pira was, he needed to make them talk. He didn't enjoy being the aggressor, but wasn't the type of person to shy away from necessary tasks. He made quick work of the lock and was inside with the door shut before the woman could put her shirt on.

  Daneb brandished his laser pick. "Who was he looking for?" In the poor light of the boxy room, the piercing instrument loomed large.

  "I don't know what you're talking about. Why are you in my room?" She slipped one arm into the sleeve of her open-front shirt. Everything below the elbow was missing, torn off in a not so neat fashion. She slipped her other arm in, and pulled the shirt closed, but not enough to cover herself.

  "The man that was just here. You asked him if he was sure it was her. Who were you referring to?" He checked the room with flicks of his eyes, but kept going back to her barely covered breasts.

  "What man are you talking about?"

  "The one that just left here. Don't play coy." He stepped forward and wriggling his weapon at her.

  "Oh," she moaned.

  She flopped back on the couch and released the grip on her shirt. Both breasts flung free. He watched them mold and form and shake as she leaned back farther, then came toward him. Had his own red pick not reflected off the shiny shank she intended to stab him with, she would have likely succeeded.

  Daneb stepped out of range and she rose to her feet without using her arms. He pulled to the side as her face twisted into something ugly. Her hair furled behind her and she slashed at the air in continued pursuit.

  "Don't make me hurt you," he said without conviction. He couldn't get beyond the couch, and she was blocking the door.

  She dropped the guise of the swooning female. "With that little prick? Don't be daft, boy." Her breasts still hung free, but they were just the teats of some wild animal.

  Daneb lunged and she pulled to the side. He pressed his advantage, skirted beyond her reach, and placed the door to his side. The woman came at an angle, again forcing him into the back corner.

  "Just tell me what you know about the girl, and I'll go."

  "Little waggy-wag. I'm not telling you shit. I'll dump on your dead head before we drop you out a lock."

  Daneb lunged at the woman, but she didn't shy away. He jammed the laser into the end of her stump while she sliced the length of his other tricep. He yowled in pain, and pulled his head back in time to avoid her next move. He stabbed the arm holding the shank, but she continued to wave the blade at him. He stepped back, and his heel caught on something, sending him sprawling. He lost his laser pick in the process. She tried to pierce him with her weapon, but he caught her by the elbow. She kneed at his groin and missed, but it still smarted. He punched her in the face and tried for another, but she blocked it with her stump. He then got both hands on her wrist and tried to shake the instrument free. She raised her knee to his crotch again and caught something in his thigh that made his leg go numb. He tried to pull the blade from her hand, but she cut a deep gash in his palm. He leaned closer, took several ineffective punches from her stump, and elbowed her in the face while keeping both hands on her wrist. The second time he elbowed her face blood spurted from her nose and ran into her mouth.

  "You fuckin' fuck," she cursed. Her words a warm shower of bloodied spittle that covered his face.

  Daneb tried to elbow her a third time, but she pulled back and attempted to stand. He yanked on her wrist, which pulled her off balance, and then slid out from under her. He tried to stand while holding her down, but she got her feet under her. Daneb used his weight to bring her around, and put his back to the door. She kicked him in the knee and he tried to pull her off balance while she was on one leg, but instead brought her to him. She raised her knee again and he turned to the side to protect his groin. He loosed one hand, and punched her in the stomach. She doubled over with a grimace and he used the opportunity to shove her back, letting go as he did. She bumped the edge of the couch and faltered, but didn't fall. It was only two seconds, but that was long enough for him to slip out the door.

  As Daneb hobbled away, the door flew open and slammed into the wall with a crack.

  "He's already got the weird bitch," she cackled. "That bounty is ours." She hacked and spit a large wad of something in his direction.

  The long, deep cut in his arm burned and his leg still wasn't fully functional, but he pushed through it since the weird bitch was Maggie. He assumed the shopkeeper was lying about Pira, and maybe he had, but for whatever reason the rough man in the heavy coat was after Maggie. She was nice, had helped him, and he put her in harm's way. It was just like Pira, who he imagined was suffering at that very moment, all because he wanted to steal the damn Golden Crunk of Cringle.

  Something tingled near his groin, and it wasn't a fresh wound. He shook the idea off, and stomped the sleepiness out of his uncooperative leg. He then slipped through the narrow passage and kept a brisk pace back to Maggie.

  *

  "Are you ok," Daneb asked when he spotted Maggie.

  "Yes. You are injured."

  It felt like the air was melting his skin and his heart was trying to pump all of his blood out through the giant slash in his arm. "Where's the man? He came back this way, for you."

  "I do not know."

  "The guy with the- you know, big beard, the coat."

  "Yes."

  "He didn't come back this way?"

  "No."

  "The shopkeeper?"

  "He is gone."

  "Where did he go?"

  "I do not know."

  "Were you not watching him?" His rush of emotion turned into agitation.

  "I have been waiting here as instructed. Your sister has not been."

  "I- damn it." He grabbed his wrist, clenched it, wishing for the pain to subside. "I need a doctor."

  "I will help find." She reached out and took hold of his uninjured arm.

  "No," he said, slipping free. "I can-" his words trailed off as he noticed blood on the knee of her pants. "I'll be fine, thanks. It's probably better if we split up." Daneb walked away before she could respond.

  He heard Maggie's footsteps for a while, but she split off before he made it back to the room. After he picked the lock and entered the empty room, he stood motionless for a second while trying to imagine his stink as visible clouds. Pulling the bed free took considerable effort with only one arm, but he managed. After prying the wall open and retrieving a stack of drachma, he realized he'd left a bloody handprint. He wiped it with his hand, but all that did was smear more blood around. Blood continued to drip from his left arm and stained much of his pants and shirt. He closed his eyes to try to steady himself, but it made him light headed.

  After regaining his composure, he pulled the blanket from the bed, wiped what he could from the wall, and pushed it into place with his hip.

  It is a man's duty to protect his family.

  His real father had never said that, but the ghostly image he retained of the man seemed likely to.

  Slowly, Daneb made his way to his usual food stop. When he arrived, he found a younger male Bramel instead of the Bramel with the dappled fur.

  "Holy shit dude. What happened to you?"

  Daneb was pretty sure the creature had asked him that, but the voice didn't match a Bramel at all. The room was moving, even though Daneb was propped against a shelf.

  "Doctor need." It seemed like a complete thought, but his head was pounding in rhythm with his arm.

  "Grymar," the young Bramel growled.

  Then the Bramel was gone. Daneb slumped to the ground and watched his blood pool on the floor.

  The dappled Bramel came to stand over him. "Sintarac."

  "No human." He hadn't answered the question right, so tried again. "I'm human. She was human. Not... doctor, please." He willingly fell to his side, but grunted when he landed on his bad arm. He pulled the whole stack of drachma out and tried to hand it to the older Bramel, who was saying something, but the money tumbled free. Daneb let his arm fall to the ground. He had no more energy. He listened to his own labored breathing while someone pulled at him. Then he passed out.

  *

  "Oh good, you're awake. I always find it's best to ask before I get started." The man hovering over him had black eyes.

  Daneb was lying on a high table in a room full of instruments. He tried to swallow but nothing would go down, so instead exhaled in exhaustion. "What?"

  "I was thinking crustacean." He held up a huge claw on a long appendage and wiggled it around. "They're in fashion now."

  Daneb stared at the man. He wasn't sure what he was saying.

  "Oh, you're not one of those are you?" He drew the word those out to twice its normal length. "Why have synthetic when you can have organic. Robotics is so last century." He wiggled the claw again. "It's new, well." He looked closer at it. "Not new, but premium used. You know what I mean. Just think, the next time someone attacks you, you can just snip their balls off." He closed the claw and motioned in the direction of Daneb's genitals. "Or if you got hungry, you could just eat your own arm." The man burst out laughing.

  Daneb was dumbstruck by his enthusiasm.

  "Sorry. I know, I know. It's not funny. The genocide of the crustacean people is not a joke. But still, this is better than what you have."

  Daneb looked at his gaping arm. Clamps held it in place and bone was showing. "I don't want someone else's arm. Fix mine."

  "Oh, you're one of
those," he said, again drawing out the word. "Look, the muscle has been severed. I can repair it, but it'll be the same price as getting an entirely new arm. This is stronger than the puny arm you have there. Look at me. I've had this beauty for near two years." He pushed up his short sleeve to reveal a massive scar at his shoulder.

  For the first time Daneb realized the man's eyes weren't the only part that was Sintarac. His hands were round with two opposable pairs of digits. Daneb thought to object, but the fact that organic body modification was both illegal and immoral wouldn't come into play on Ben-2. He intended to return to normal space once he found Pira, so even if he did choose to modify, he'd never use crustacean parts.

  "Just fix my arm. Use synthetic if you have to. Did he give you all the money?"

  "What?" the man asked distracted. He was looking at the massive claw. "Yeah, you're covered. Don't worry." He sat the spare arm aside. "If synthetic is what you want," he said with renewed enthusiasm, "synthetic is what you'll get."

  "I don't want synth-"

  "Nurse."

  A Bramel grabbed Daneb's arm and injected him with something. He had questions, but the drug was fast and he was out again before he could object.

  *

  "Are you awake?" someone asked, lightly tugging at his shoulder.

  He hadn't been until they started shaking him. "Yeah."

  Daneb was on an uncomfortable bed in a metal room void of other furniture. Maggie was sitting on the edge. He was glad to see her for half a moment, but then remembered the blood. He ran his bandaged hand over his face, and stole a glimpse of her pants. The blood was gone. He knew he hadn't imagined it because he was still lucid at that point.

  "What are you doing here?" He tried to sit up, but grimaced as pain shot through his arm.

  "I am contracted to you."

  "Not anymore." His voice sounded angry, though he didn't feel it. "You've helped me enough, thanks."

  "You are the only kind one. I want to make sure you ok."

  "I'm fine. You can go now."

  "I do not-" she started, and glanced at the door. "I will wait for you."

  They hadn't been around each other that long, but he felt something was off. "What is it?"

  Her small yellow iris traced the dome of her massive eye. It went from him to the door and back to him. She leaned in close, and whispered, "His scent cloud is Sintarac."

  "It's just his arms, and his eyes." Daneb hadn't seen most of the person, so wasn't sure if that was true or not.

  "No. He is Sintarac. This part is new." She circled her hand in front of her chest.

  Daneb had assumed the scars were where the man attached the arms, but it could have been the other way around. It didn't matter to him either way though. His arm hurt like hell, but he felt full of blood, and both hands and arms worked.

  Footsteps approached.

  "Sleep," she said and placed her hand over his face briefly.

  Daneb could smell her skin, like fragrant leather. As the door opened, she pulled her hand away, and he closed his eyes.

  "Is he not awake yet?" the doctor asked.

  "No."

  "Did you try?"

  "Yes."

  "He should be awake by now. The Bramel blood should have taken care of any complications on the inside. I need him awake soon. I'll have to inject him."

  "No, please. Syntynara mep."

  "Myop mep."

  "Ok."

  The door closed. Daneb counted the doctors footsteps until he could no longer hear them, and then opened his eyes. "What was that about?"

  "Please. You must going. He is danger. We need away."

  Her grasp of language had degraded, which he took as a sign of nervousness. He trusted her less, but he'd never trusted the oddball doctor. Choosing sides was easy.

  "Help me up." He stretched out his bad hand and she grabbed him about the wrist. With a little aid, he was in a seated position. "Where are my clothes?"

  "Gone. I bought those."

  Daneb was wearing a lose pair of slacks, and a shirt that was more than two sizes too big. "With what money?"

  "Your money."

  "Mine? How did you get it? Where is it?"

  "It is safe. I will show."

  Daneb scrunched his face, looked deep into the dark blue of her orb. He couldn't even tell when humans were lying, so it was foolish to believe her, but he did. She seemed worried, which made him think one or both of them were in danger. His arm was twice its normal size with the wrapping, which made him wonder what was underneath.

  The idea got to him, so when Maggie pulled him, he got to his feet without object. "He's paid in full?"

  "Yes. It has been done."

  Maggie placed an arm around his waist as he faltered. The pain was a fraction of what it was before, and his mind was unclouded.

  She opened the door and led him down a hall, but when the doctor spotted them, he objected in what Daneb assumed was Sintarac.

  "Thanks doc," he said, and raised his bad arm to wave. He grimaced as new pain coursed through his shoulder, but covered it with a smile.

  They exited the building, and immediately turned right. A short ways up, they turned into an alley.

  "Someone is following us," he said. He could hear their footsteps.

  "Yes. I know way."

  Maggie was much stronger than anticipated. She ushered him along at a pace so quick he thought he might fall, but when he stumbled, she kept him upright and moving. She guided him from hall to hall, passing a few people, all of which stared. Several quick turns, and ten minutes later she slowed to a normal pace. He couldn't hear the people behind them anymore.

  "I think they're gone," he said.

  "I think this too." Her mouth was slightly agape, and he could see the plates.

  "Is that a smile? Do you smile?"

  "We do not have this, I do not think."

  "Hold on. Let me go for a sec."

  She was squeezing so tight his side hurt. When she let go, he placed one hand on the wall and took a deep breath.

  "Do you have happy?" The sentence sounded like something she would say, but he hoped she'd understand. "Like the emotion, happy."

  "Yes. We should still move forward," she said and looked in the direction they'd come.

  "Right." He allowed her to encircle his waist again, but the grip was looser. "When people are happy they smile, or maybe laugh. I can't tell with you, so I'm not sure how to take you sometimes. Humans interact with facial expression as much as words. Do Sintarac not do that, or is there something I'm missing?"

  "We can, but do not. Is better express with words."

  "Sure it's better, but sometimes there aren't words to express what you're feeling in given moment. Sometimes only a smile or grin will do, or a laugh. You can't just say ha-ha. It's not the same."

  "If not words, then you need more words. I have found this." She stopped in front of a door with scrapes around the lock. She pulled his picks out of her pocket, and started to work the lock.

  "Let me," he said, and took the picks from her.

  A few seconds later, they were inside the room. It was only a little larger than the one he was staying in, but there were two beds. He doubted it was a coincidence.

  "Is the money here?"

  "I have."

  He looked her over. Her pants looked a bit fuller, but there was no way she had the case in her pocket. Since they didn't wear shirts, there was nowhere else to hide the money.

  "I appreciate what you've done for me, but can you give me the rest of my money back? I need it to save my sister and get off of this crazy station."

  "Yes." She started to unzip her pants, but stopped. "You must not look."

  He wasn't sure what he wasn't supposed to be looking at, but turned his back anyways. She unzipped her pants, seemed to pull them down, wrestle with something, then the pants again, and zipped them back up.

  "Here."

  He turned around. The case was intact, but covered in a red film.

  "Where the hell was that?"

  "I put in cloacal sac. It is unused."

  She seemed sad about it, but he couldn't be sure. He opened the case and found a lot of the money remained.

  "Did you not take some?" he asked surprised.

  "I would not take from you. You are only nice one."