Chapter 26: Disappearance
I wanted to disappear. To vanish. The problem was how to evade the dozens of drones and cameras that watched my every move. The first thing I had to do was increase the odds in my favor.
Grandma and I decided to spend the weekend at her home at the edge of the city. Not only did the air seem cleaner but the sky held fewer drones, although I always recognized a few. My own personal friends. The sun was high and the day was warm, a perfect day for the beach. I packed my bag full of fruit, spare clothes and some toiletries. Just your basic running away from home kit.
“You got enough in there?” my grandma asked. I jumped slightly.
“I think so,” I answered nonchalantly. “Never can be too prepared.” I flashed her a warm smile. She shuffled towards me.
“You know you can always be honest with me.” She rested her hand on my shoulder. She knows.
“You’re all the family I have,” I said and gave her a hug.
“Come with me.” She beckoned to the bedroom, and I followed her in. She walked over to a jewelry tree full of earrings and necklaces. She pulled a ring from it and flattened my hand out. She dropped it in.
“What’s this?”
“A gift from your father to your mother.”
“A wedding ring?”
“No, dear — a celebratory ring. Your mother was always after your dad about her present. She said that men had it easy and women did all the work carrying children for nine months. She said she deserved a reward for taking such good care of you before you were born. I think he thought she was joking at the start, but by the time you were born, he knew he had to get her something.”
“You mean the ring was to celebrate me?”
“Yes. I know you never really got to know your mother but she wanted to celebrate everything about you. In your first year she had a party every month with other mothers, and they would do crafts and watch you toddlers laugh and cry. I’m pretty sure she would have wanted you to have this.” The ring glistened. It was half silver and half gold, twisting around each other like a helix.
“Dad rarely talked about Mom. I can never tell if he missed her or was angry with her.”
“A bit of both, dear. He wished she could have watched you grow up. I’m sure she would have been proud of you.” She leaned over and kissed me on the forehead. “Enjoy the beach.” She followed me out of the bedroom and waved as I exited the front door. For a moment I doubted my plan and the hurt it would cause her. As I walked to the end of driveway, I contemplated delaying my escape. Then I heard a purring to my left.
A cat lay at the corner of the driveway. It licked its paws and used them to wet its metallic ears. It had every mannerism of an actual cat (which were rare) except it lived in a metal body. I resisted the urge to pat it and turned abruptly to avoid it. Seconds later, I looked back. It tilted its head to the side, as if to get a better look at me. It got up and rushed after me, like it was pursuing a mouse.
My walk to the beach was uneventful. The beach was manmade a number of years ago, I remember the bulldozers pushing the sand into huge piles. Beautiful white sand that got hot under your feet. I reached the boardwalk and the cat started circling one of the pillars. I knew it wouldn’t follow me; cats aren’t welcome at the beach. Even drone ones. Besides, it would watch and wait for me to return through the only exit. I stepped over the dune and looked around. A crowd had gathered to the far right and I knew I only had about ten minutes before I had to join them.
I searched the beach and found some trees to put my knapsack beside to keep it hidden from other beach users. I slipped out of my clothes (I had my bathing suit on underneath) and placed them into the knapsack. I grabbed my swimming cap and pulled it tight over my hair. I put my goggles on and headed over to the crowd of people.
Each year there was an annual fundraising race from the beach out towards an island at the other end. The total distance was about two kilometers, and you had to circle the island six times before returning back to the beach. I had always been a decent swimmer and I could probably place well if I tried to compete. But I was here for other results. I showed one of the volunteers the wristband I purchased from registration yesterday. She marked a check on her tablet and continued to greet other swimmers. I lined up in a queue with about a hundred swimmers. They were of all ages and both sexes, and I tried to lose myself into the center of the crowd. Circling overhead, I could see several drone birds casualty floating.
“Please get ready, the race is about to begin!” a woman’s voice boomed over a speaker. Everyone’s excitement quietened as swimmers rotated their arms, necks, legs or all three in anticipation of starting. I focused forward on the island and reviewed my plan.
“Boom!” A pistol blared and everyone started towards the water. A young boy seemed anxious to get to the front and I let him by to avoid his elbows in the water. As my feet stepped from the sand to the water, I could feel them slipping into the mud. Because of it shallowness, the water was warm. The water was a mass of arms and legs and I set a steady pace in the middle of the pack. The exercise was comforting, right stroke, left stoke, all I had to focus on was the island ahead.
Fifteen minutes later we approached the island. Each loop would take about ten minutes each. As we approached the west side of the island, I saw onlookers waving down from a metal bridge. The island was connected to the mainland, and people had crossed to see us. As we came to the bridge, several swimmers dove underneath to avoid the low overhang. I burst under the water and looked at the rocks below. With my right hand I took off my swimming cap and reversed it, turning it from a red to a blue. I rejoined the swimmers on the surface.
As I looked around me, I assessed the swimming groups. There seemed to be an equal number of swimmers ahead as behind me. I thought about my placing if I was actually trying to win. It didn’t matter. As I swam around the island, I watched the shoreline. The bird drones continued to float overhead, but past the volunteers on the edge of the island I noticed a few drone policeman stationed at intervals. I wondered if they always helped at these events.
Ten minutes passed as I stroked through the water until I saw the bridge span approaching again. There were fewer people looking down as I dipped below the water. I dove deep, seeing the same rock as before. Beneath was a mesh bag with a snorkel inside. I reached in and put the curved end into my mouth. I swam away from the racers and swam back towards the bridge. I came up just below the surface, blowing water out of my mouth. I gulped fresh air and swam along the edges of the lake, far away from the racers. As I swam, I skirted legs and watched air mattresses float by. Sound doesn’t travel well through water but the roar of the race gradually dimmed as I swam back to the beach.
I floated to the surface as I looked straight into the face of a little boy. He stared at me with puzzled eyes.
“You should see the fish in the lake!” I exclaimed and handed him the snorkel before he could respond. I covered my face and dashed towards the tree with my backpack. I unzipped the bag and reached inside. I quickly pulled on a different shirt and put on a ball cap and sunglasses. I looked back to the lake. I probably had about ten minutes before the lead swimmers landed and then the drones would be watching each swimmer at the end of the race. I spotted a family walking out from the beach and quickly dashed to catch up with them.
I walked to the left of them. The dad was arguing with his son, who was probably a couple of years younger than me. Ahead I saw the drone cat in a sitting position, watching everyone as they exited. I held my breath and pulled my hat lower. The cat veered his head around the dad, trying to get a better look at me. I heard a scream from behind and looked. Two girls were yelling at a mouse scurrying over the boardwalk. The cat was distracted by their cries and I walked fast past him.
Now it got hard. I had about twenty minutes before the drones clued in that I was gone. They would scour everywhere for me and then start to review footage from the beach earlier to observe when I left. I couldn’t go on any public transport, and I had to stay away from downtown. I started walking down the sidewalk pretending to be casual, avoiding cameras when possible but trying not to look like I was avoiding cameras. I began heading westward. I noticed a drone bird flying to my right. I slowed and fell into step behind an older couple. They walked excruciatingly slow and it took all my patience not to run ahead of them. The drone bird continued to follow. I noticed a tunnel under the roadway and sped towards it.
The shadows were dark with the sun directly overhead. I figured I could lose the drone in a store on the other side when I saw something that stopped me in my tracks. On the opposite side a drone officer was walking behind a group of kids. They were laughing and ignoring him. I didn’t want to be seen by the drone`s cameras. I stepped back into the shadows and walked as close the wall as possible. The girls giggled and the sound reverberated off the tunnel walls. Neither the girls nor the drone officer seemed to pay me any attention. As they passed, I resisted the urge to look over. I felt something sharp at my temple and for a second my vision went blurry. I touched my head and felt nothing. As I snuck a look behind me, the drone officer and kids had exited the tunnel.
As I exited the other end, I began to quicken my pace. Not enough to garner suspicion, but I needed to cover some distance. Overhead, a flock of bird drones flew straight to the beach. It seemed like reinforcements had been called in quicker than I thought. I needed to make it to my safe zone now. And I needed speed to get there. As I turned a corner, I saw my salvation.
The park came into view, and a running group was stretching at the entrance. I looked at my clothes — my sneakers and shirt would pass as a casual runner’s. My backpack was a bit out of place (and heavy) but shouldn’t warrant too much attention. I followed behind a group of three woman runners and settled into a place about ten feet behind them. I needed to make some distance fast, and the guise of being a runner would be good cover. The park was fairly safe and people ran here at all times of the day. But cameras were placed high up, looking at people’s heads. If I kept my head down it might prevent them from getting any facial recognition.
My father took me to this park as a kid. There was a big waterpark in the center and I would always challenge him to the biggest slides. He’d pretend he was scared and I would have to show him each slide to let him know they were safe. He’d mock his fear and try to back out of taking the slide, and I’d have to force him down. I loved every minute of it. I felt like the kid who was teaching her dad to be a big boy. In the end it dispelled my fears because I felt I was doing it to teach him.
“Watch out!” a man yelled at me. I’d almost collided with him on the trail while I was daydreaming. I veered away from the female runners towards the west gate. The foot traffic was lighter here and I continued my pace as if I was running home. Within a few blocks I veered into the industrial area. This was an older part of town and many companies had relocated to the new southern business park. Several minutes had passed and I’d seen no drones. I looked up. Cameras were still located at the end of each block but there were fewer. I guess safety was less of a concern where foot traffic was nonexistent. I walked behind the buildings to stay out of view of the street cameras.
Ahead of me, my destination loomed. I remembered Morall’s story from his boyhood, when he lost his eye in a rundown part of the city. I had done my research, and not much had changed since his youth. The oil refinery he described didn’t have a single window intact. I was glad there was still a roof. I slipped into a back entrance and climbed the stairs. I found a dirty, windowless office and emptied the contents of my backpack. My new home.
I laid out my food — likely good for eight days. All natural — I’d had nothing but for the last week. If police could follow me by trackers in the store-bought food, I had expelled them days ago. I was off the grid. If I was lucky, they would not seriously start searching for me for a couple of days. I planned to be gone by tomorrow.
My route was simple. At the end of each month travelers came back into the city at the main north gates. There was no chance I could get near it with the drones following my every move. Now that they suspected I was missing, they might double security at the gate. My plan was to go the exact opposite way. I would go over the cliff face where I met the ‘Wildman’. I had visited him recently at the Marks. He gave me a few tips as well as some climbing rope and carbineers. I pretended that I would be climbing much smaller cliffs, and he was happy to give me some pointers.
The landscape around where he climbed at Eaglewood was fairly impassable but poorly secured. There was no wall that surrounded this part of the city because of its ragged cliffs. It wasn’t a great chance at success but it was one I was willing to try. The constant surveillance at all other locations limited my options. If only I had tried to escape at the finals, when all eyes were on the stadium.
I leaned back on a dirty chair and tried to imagine where I’d be in a couple days. Once past the city, if I stayed close to the road, it should be about five days before I hit the ocean. Once I felt the sea spray, I knew I could find passage to other parts of the country. Anywhere but here. I imagined an ocean voyage to exotic lands. The glorious sunset over a different city. The tastes of new foods. The smell of new flowers and … burning metal? I body went rigid as the ceiling above me went red and started to smolder. I wasn’t alone, and maybe I never had been.
This is where my story began, and now it was where it would end. I should have learned that running away from the drones was exercise in futility. They were everywhere. Once they had you in their sights, there was no escape. As the frigid water went straight to my bones, the watery grave enveloped my body. I began to become disoriented. I couldn’t tell if I was swimming up or down as everything became dark. In the last seconds, I felt eerily at peace. As if everything I had done had worked towards this moment.
Then this world ended.