Patience and Virtue · Part 6 (6/6)
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damaged and ready to be fired up as soon as they could be provided with the necessary charcoal and limestone.
The warriors ate a simple evening meal and bedded down soon after sunset. Alena woke up in the middle of the night. She tried to go back to sleep, but all she could think about was Pat. She finally gave up trying to sleep and dressed and armed herself. Two moons were still up, and they provided enough light to let her see the trail. She started down the bluff.
The sun was just visible on the horizon when Alena reached the caravan's camp. She was challenged by a picket and passed through to the center of the camp. She asked a warrior, "Do you know where Pat is?"
"She's in the hut just beyond the kitchen area. Look for the rope tied to the tree behind it."
"Thanks, I'll find it." Pat found the hut, but it was empty. She stopped another warrior, who was just coming off guard duty. "Do you know where Pat is?"
"Yeah, I saw her and Jaid on the trail to Big Spring."
"Why was she with Jaid? Why didn't you stop them?"
The guard shrugged. "A warrior can take a slave girl into the bushes if she wants to. Jaid still has her beads, at least for now."
"When did you see them?"
"It was before dawn, maybe an hour ago."
Alena hurried to the Big Springs trail. There was now enough daylight to let her examine the surface, and she found two sets of footprints heading away from the camp. She increased her pace. She didn't know why Jaid had taken Pat out of the camp, but she feared the worst.
When Alena reached the top of the saddle between the hills she stopped and scanned the horizon. She could see a faint smudge of smoke straight ahead. The footprints led down the slope, and Alena followed them.
Alena continued to follow the footprints. She unsheathed her ax and put her shield on her left arm. She was uneasy. Her warrior intuition told her something was wrong. She moved forward, every sense alert. She spotted a body on the ground near a tree. It was Pat! No one else had her single-color hair. Pat was motionless and her eyes were closed. Alena's heart seemed to stop. She moved forward slowly and looked down on Pat's body.
Pat opened her eyes. "Alena! I thought you were Jaid. I thought I was dead." She started to cry.
Alena crouched next to Pat and kissed her. "I was afraid you were dead. What's happening? Why did Jaid bring you here? Where is Jaid?"
"Jaid was going to torture me to death and blame it on savages. She said she was going to Big Spring. Be careful! She could be close, and she's crazy."
"How long has she been gone?"
"I don't know for sure. How far is it to Big Spring?"
"You could go there and back in about half an hour."
"She's been gone a lot longer than that." Pat squirmed. "Please untie me."
Alena cut the ropes from Pat's ankles and collar and helped her sit up. "We've got to find Jaid. Can you walk?"
Pat moaned when Alena cut the ropes off of her arms. "Yes, it's just my arms that are stiff. Help me up, please."
Alena helped Pat stand. "Stay by me, and be very quiet." Alena circled until she found Jaid's footprints and then followed them slowly, watching carefully for any sign of an ambush. Pat stayed close behind her. They continued like this for about ten minutes, until Pat tapped Alena on the shoulder. "What?" Alena whispered. Pat pointed to a large number of birds circling overhead.
They slowly crept forward. They could hear birds squawking on the ground just ahead. Alena peered around a thick bush. A dead savage lay in a small clearing. Next to it was the headless body of a woman. She had been horribly mutilated, both by the savages and by the carrion birds feeding on the remains.
Pat and Alena moved into the clearing and the birds scattered. Alena said, "This must be Jaid, but I can't tell for sure."
"Look over there." Pat pointed to another bush. Jaid's head, with its distinctive black and white hair, was nestled neck-down under the branches.
"That's Jaid." Alena took a closer look at the head. "The side of her skull is caved in. At least the savages didn't take her alive. But what are savages doing here? They never come this close to Big Bluff. We've got to find out how many more there are. I saw smoke from the top of the saddle. The savages may have a camp close by. This could be very dangerous, Pat."
Pat shrugged. "I'll go anywhere with you."
Alena found more footprints and the two women followed them. Their path was roughly parallel to the small stream flowing away from the spring. Their progress was slow, because they took every precaution to avoid discovery. They could see more smoke now, and its source was close. They crawled up a low ridge. Alena gasped. Several hundred savages were camped along the stream. She whispered, "We've got to warn the caravan! Our warriors couldn't defeat so many savages, and the cart girls…"
Pat asked, "What should we do?"
"Get away from here, very carefully." The two women crept away through the brush. When they were several hundred paces away Alena stopped. "We've got to go faster, even if it means we're spotted." She moved to the trail alongside the stream and jogged along it. Pat followed her.
All went well for while. Then a savage saw them, and he and seven others started a pursuit. The savages were about a hundred paces away. Alena and Pat ran faster. If they were cut off from the trail up to the saddle they could never reach the caravan in time. One of the savages broke away from the pack and sprinted towards them. He collapsed before he closed the distance, but Alena and Pat were forced to expend extra energy. Even so, they were faster than the savages and the distance between them widened.
The women reached the base of the hill and started to climb the trail up the slope. Half way up Alena panted, "I don't think they can catch us now."
Pat glanced back over her shoulder. "Look!" she groaned.
The savages from the initial band of pursuers were slumped on the ground at the base of the hill, but they had been joined by others. One of the new group of savages was pointing up the slope. Another was jogging towards the savages' camp.
Alena paused to look. "Keep going. It's all we can do." They kept climbing the hill. Pat and Alena collapsed as soon as they reached the top. The new group, almost twenty savages, was about 400 paces away. They were walking steadily up the slope towards them, saving their energy until they reached the top.
Alena panted, "It's no use. They'll catch us for sure. I'm too tired to run much farther, and they haven't been running at all."
"It's not that far to the caravan. You can reach it. Give me the bow. I'll stay here and delay them. They have to come up the trail and I can pick them off easily. Most likely they'll retreat after I kill a few."
"No, I can't let you do that. Maybe we can still outrun them."
"No chance of that and you know it. Go! I'll stay."
"A war leader is always the last one to retreat. I'll stay."
"You are a war leader, so the caravan commander will listen to you. I'm just a slave girl."
"She'll listen to you too."
"Melia will want to confirm what I tell her. She'll send out scouts. But it will take too much time. The savages will attack, and everyone will be killed."
Alena nodded. She gave Pat the bow and the quiver. Pat had spoken truly. She had to be the one who warned the caravan. "How many arrows do we have?"
Pat counted the arrows in Alena's quiver. "Eleven."
"When you've shot those you duck into the brush, understand?"
"Sure. Leave your ax and shield."
"What?"
"You'll run faster without them. Now go!"
Alena dropped her ax and shield. She knew what this meant. The lovers embraced and kissed. Alena jogged down the trail. Pat watched her go. I could slip into the brush right now. The savages would follow Alena and I'd be safe. But I can't do that. Pat strung the bow and put on her thumb ring. She nocked an arrow and looked down the slope. She had a clear view of the entire trail.
The savages were scattered in a long column, with the nearest about 200 paces distant. Pat drew and released her arrow. It hit the leading savage in the abdomen and he fell, howling. Downhill shot. Nothing to it. The others yelled with rage and increased their speed to a trot.
That's it, run! Tire yourselves out! Pat dropped another savage with an arrow through the chest. She was surprised by how she felt. No fear, no anger, just a sort of resignation; regret, really.
The savages kept coming. Pat had to admire their courage. They must have known that the closer they got the better their chance of stopping a fatal arrow.
Pat shot her last arrow when the nearest savage was only 30 paces away. Now there were six of them, and they were all foaming with rage and waving their stone war clubs. They ran uphill towards her. She barely had time to settle the shield on her arm and pick up the ax before the leading savage attacked her. She parried his first blow with her shield and the next with her ax, and her counter swing hit the savage in the knee.
One down! He won't catch Alena! Pat screamed, a cry of challenge and defiance.
The savages drew back. They were panting, tired from running up the slope. The trail was flanked by thick brush and was only wide enough to allow one savage at a time to face Pat. The savages tried to spread out so they could all attack at once, but their movements were hampered by the tangled vegetation.
Pat thought The savages just ran up the hill. They're more tired than I am. I can outrun them now! She turned and sprinted away. There was a cry of rage from the frustrated savages as they struggled through the brush. Pat risked a glance over her shoulder and was relieved to see that none of the savages were pursuing her. She slowed her pace to an easy lope.
When Pat reached the main trail she met a patrol of Ce'jk warriors. She gasped, "Did Alena warn the caravan?"
The patrol leader replied, "Yes. Everyone is returning to the city." The first of the cart girls were just coming into view, hurrying down the trail. "How close are the savages?"
"I don't know." Pat panted for breath. "I didn't see any on the trail up the slope, except the ones that were chasing me and Alena, and they stopped."
"You wait here, Pat. Melia wants to talk to you." Pat nodded, and the patrol leader lead her warriors down the trail.
I'm alive! Pat rejoiced. I'll see Alena again! She realized she was still carrying Alena's ax and shield. The patrol leader had let her keep them. She looked up the trail, now crowded with running bodies, anxious to see Alena. Then the world turned a dazzling white.
Patience opened her eyes. She was in the bland modernity of the AVRCorp virtual reality lab, seated in a chair surrounded by racks of electronic equipment. Kimberly was standing next to her, dressed as always in her long white lab coat and wearing her dark-rimmed glasses.
Patience demanded, "Why did you bring me back? I don't want to stay in this world! Send me back at once!"
Kimberly shook her head. "We can't do that. Your body will deteriorate if all you do is sit in that chair, and we're still not sure what effect long exposure to the VR world will have on your mind."
"How long have I been gone? What day is it?"
"It's Monday. Early Monday morning."
"The Monday after the party? I've been away for less than three days?"
"That's right. Close your eyes and relax, Pat. It may take a while before you completely reorient yourself and return to the real world. Think back to last Friday, before you entered the VR world, and come forward from there."
Patience closed her eyes and tried to remember. Everything was vague at first, but gradually it coalesced.
Kimberly asked, "Do you remember what happened on Friday?"
"Yes, I remember now. I'm really sorry for what I did. Can you forgive me?"
"Sure, I suppose I can forgive you."
Patience asked, "Do you know everything that happened to me in the VR world?"
"No, not yet. I jumped ahead and looked at the last few hours of the recording."
"Did I pass the test? Are you going to let me go now?" Patience struggled against the broad nylon straps that now bound her to the chair.
"I can't make that decision on my own, Pat. John, Scott, Eli, and I will have to talk about it after we've reviewed the recording. I've got the time compression program processing it now." Kimberly inserted a hypodermic syringe into the IV tube connected to Patience's hand.
"What are you doing?"
"Just giving you a sedative so we can move you to more congenial surroundings. We're going to need the VR lab, and we don't want anyone to know you've been here." She compressed the syringe.
"No! Wait, I…" Patience slumped in the chair.
Scott entered the VR lab. "I got your message, Kim. Let's get Pat out of here. How long will she be asleep?"
"Three to four hours. Plenty of time to move her."
"Right. John and Eli will meet us at the house."
Scott and Kimberly worked together to free Patience from the chair. Kimberly disconnected the IV. She removed Patience's soggy diaper and undressed her completely. She used cable ties to fasten Patience's hands behind her back and to link her ankles together. Scott left the room and returned with a hand truck and a large cardboard box. They sealed Patience into the box and wheeled it to the loading dock. Scott slid it into the back of his pickup truck. Today was a company holiday. No one was around to witness Patience's removal.
Patience woke up slowly. She was naked and sitting in a padded armchair in the center of a very ordinary living room. The curtains were drawn across all of the windows, but enough sunlight came through to dimly illuminate the room. Her wrists were crossed behind her back and held there by tight cable ties that cut into her skin. Another tie held her ankles together. Scott, Eli, John, and Kimberly sat on a sofa placed against a bare white wall. Kimberly and John were reading and Scott and Eli were talking quietly. When Patience moved they all stopped what they were doing and stared at her.
Patience was very afraid. These four people held her fate in their hands. She tried to speak, but all that emerged from her constricted throat was a soft whimper.
Eli spoke. "We've reviewed the important parts of your VR adventure, Pat. We all agree that you performed a selfless act when you covered Alena's escape. You do appear to have more to your character than naked self-interest. We have decided that you will not be turned over to the police."
Patience cried with relief. "Oh, thank you! I promise I won't say anything about the company to anyone." She moved her shoulders. "Please free my hands. These ties are cutting into my wrists. And can I have some clothes? I don't want to go outside naked."
"You don't quite understand, Pat. We aren't going to turn you over to the police, but we are not going to release you either. You betrayed us once, and we are not going to let you do it again. You are going to stay in this house at least until all of the patents have been issued. You may have to stay longer, maybe until we have a product ready to market. However, if you continue to do your job, and if you do it faithfully, you can keep your stock options and participate in our success."
"You can't hold me against my will! That's kidnapping!"
"Yes, kidnapping is what it is called. And we can do it. Scott posted a message on the company bulletin board saying you had a family emergency and you had to go to your sister's house. Nobody will question this. You can do your work by telecommuting. Most of your group do that now and rarely come into the office. We will censor your email, but you will stay in contact with your group. No one will notice anything unusual."
"You'll never get away with it! Not unless you kill…." Patience blanched as the full implications of what she said struck her.
Eli smiled. "We don't have to kill you, Pat. There will not be any hard evidence that you were kept here against your will. This house isn't traceable to any of us, even if you knew where it was. It is in a quiet suburb, and the neighbors believe the house has been purchased by a couple who are overseas on business and who won't return for several months. If you go to the police with a wild story of being kidnapped it will just be your word against ours. And consider this, Pat. You tried to hurt us, and having to spend some time here is no more than you deserve. It is as though you were sentenced to 'house arrest', but without all of the unpleasant consequences of a criminal record. So relax and do your work. When the project is successful and you are rich you will laugh about all this."
Kimberly cut the tie off of Patience's ankles. "Come on, I'll show you your new home." She pulled the dazed Patience to her feet and led her into the basement.
The basement was unfinished, with unpainted cement-block walls, exposed floor joists, and a bare concrete floor. A toilet and a sink were against one wall in the corner opposite the stairs. A refrigerator and a microwave were next to them. A steel support pole was located about eight feet from the corner walls and a narrow single bed and a computer desk were spaced around it.
Kimberly led Patience to the pole. "Kneel!" she commanded. Patience obeyed.
A medium-weight chain was looped around the pole. Kimberly picked up a steel collar from the floor and slipped it inside a ring at the end of the chain. "This is your collar, Pat. It doesn't have a keyhole. Once it's closed it can't be opened. It has to be cut off." Kimberly closed it around Patience's neck and it locked with a loud 'click'.
"Stand up, and I'll cut those ties off." Patience was happy to obey this command. She rubbed her abraded wrists.
Kimberly explained, "All you need is right here, Pat. There's food in the refrigerator and dishes and other supplies in the cupboard under the microwave. The computer isn't hooked up yet, but I'll take care of that tomorrow. You won't be able to access the Internet, of course, only a private line to AVRCorp. We didn't have much time to set this up, so there are still things left to do. The basement is fairly secure as is, and surprisingly sound proof, but we'll install a steel door and steel plates on the outside of the windows. I'll also bring a in treadmill, so you can exercise. Eventually I'll get you one of those fiberglass showers, and if you behave it'll have hot water. The chain is just long enough to let you reach everything."
Patience asked, "How do I get more food, or anything else I need?"
"I'll bring it. I'll visit you regularly. Actually, I'll be the only person you will ever see. When I come here I'll be disguised as a cleaning lady. No one will notice me. I can wear my usual clothes, the ones I buy at the rummage sale."
"What happens if I get sick?"
"I was a nurse before I got my PhD in neuroscience. You'll just have to hope I remember some of my old skills."
Patience inspected her prison. The windows were small and at the top of the ten-foot walls. They were also painted black and blocked by metal grills. The only light came from fluorescent shop lights fastened to the floor joists and protected by plastic panels. She asked, "How do I turn off the lights?"
"You don't. The switch is upstairs. The lights stay on all the time because of the cameras."
"Cameras? You mean I'll always be watched?"
"Of course you'll be watched. The cameras are remotely accessed, and someone will always know what you're doing. Like Eli said, when you're released far from here there won't be any comebacks, but if you escaped we'd be the ones going to jail. Don't try to get the chain off your neck. If you do we will have to kill you."
Patience snarled, "You can't do this to me! I'm the only one who really understands everything about the software. You need me to successfully complete the project, and unless you let me go I won't work!"
"Don't be difficult, Pat. It's in your interest as well as ours to make the project successful. I've been put in charge of you and I can make you work."
"No you can't! I could turn out garbage and you wouldn't know the difference."
Patience sighed. "There is some truth to that. How about this? You do your best work and every so often you can go back to the VR world for a couple of real-time days."
"The same world? I could see Alena again?"
"Sure, Pat. There wouldn't even be a gap in the VR timeline."
"OK, it's a deal. How soon can I go back?"
"It'll take a while to set up the equipment. I'll give you an estimate later."
"Don't take too long, or I might reconsider."
Kimberly warned, "Don't even think about it. Remember, I can do anything to you that I wish, and you must accept what I bestow."
Patience was shocked. The last time she had heard that phrase she was about to be tortured to death. She stammered, "You were, you were…"
"Jaid?" Kimberly smiled. "Yes, I was. Remember what I told you, Pat? That a person's basic personality remains intact in the VR world? Think about that before you cause me any trouble."
I welcome your comments.
Patience and Virtue · Part 6 (6/6)
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