Accidental Evil (12 page)

“What’s wrong?” Sarah asked.

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, but at least she was still able to talk.
 

“I don’t think I’m going to be safe there. I’ve made a huge mistake.”

“What?”

Lily told her about Trina and Gerard Dingus. She told her about the way Gerard was looking up towards the house. She looked Sarah in the eyes and waited for the older girl to tell her she was being silly. She waited for the assurance that everything was going to be okay.

Sarah set her jaw and regarded Lily for a second. When she spoke, her voice was all business. “You’re in a world of shit,” she said.

Lily caught her breath.

“That guy is a straight up pervert. I don’t know if he has graduated to full-on rape yet, but he was super into exposing himself to anyone around him. I heard he used to jerk off right in class before they pulled him from school. One time they found him jizzing into a water fountain at Town Hall.”

“You’re kidding!” Lily said. Her heart felt like it was going to explode from her chest.

Sarah shook her head slowly. “Eventually they removed him so he wouldn’t interact with anyone else. The Prescotts are powerful around here, but even they couldn’t keep rescuing him from everyone. Some People From Away caught him messing with their dog down at the boat launch and they wanted to call in the state cops. That’s when they swept Dingus away and didn’t let him out anymore. At least that’s what I heard.”

Lily covered her hands with her face. “I won’t be able to sleep at night.”

“Just go to your folks. Tell them you changed your mind and you don’t want to stay here anymore. Trina can still house sit, and she can still have the Dingus there. Just make sure he’s gone by the time you’re back.”

“I can’t,” Lily said. “They’ve already bought their tickets. They’ll do a lot of things, but they won’t change their plane tickets. I have to find another place to go. Maybe my Aunt down in Ohio will take me.”

“Wait a sec,” Sarah said. “Maybe we can solve two problems at once. Why don’t I come stay with you? He won’t try anything with two of us there. I can bring my inflatable bed and sleep on your floor.”

“Would you do that?”

“You have to clear it with Trina. I’m sure your parents won’t care, and I won’t give my dad a choice. He’ll probably welcome having the house to himself and Shari.”

Lily forced herself to take a deep breath. It already felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. With her friend there, nothing would go wrong. All she had to do was convince Trina that it was a good idea, and then her parents would fall in line.
 

“Make it clear that I’ll buy my own food, do my own laundry, and clean up after myself, okay?”

“My parents won’t care,” Lily said. “They wouldn’t mind either way.”

“Yeah, but it will mean something to Trina,” Sarah said. “Make sure you tell her.”

Lily nodded.

[ Aware ]

A
S
SHE
WALKED
DOWN
the stairs, the rain poured off the roof and soaked through her dress. She didn’t mind. All that water made her feel safe against the robots. Logic insisted that robots would hate rain. It would probably rust their mechanisms and short out their circuits. April turned her face towards the sky and welcomed the falling drops.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, the front door of the house swung inwards and she saw a familiar face poke out of the dark.

“April, honey, where are you going? You’ll catch your death out there in the rain.”

Her uncle was padded in layers of fat. He was a prime target for the invasion. They would use his belly fat as fuel, and render the strips of fat from his back to grease their machinery. She saw his puffy cheeks as little batteries, ready for harvest.

“Death rides a mechanical horse,” she said. “These mechanical contraptions are seen as harbingers of progress, but they’re really screaming for our demise.”

Her uncle closed the door until he was only looking through a gap of a couple of inches. “Please try to stay dry,” he said. He closed the door.

She silently wished that he would be taken quickly, so he wouldn’t have to suffer. April took one more look back at her house, so she could fix its location. She thought that if she maintained a really clear picture of where it was, it might have to stay put until she returned. April headed for the street.

A line of slow cars carried people south, towards the highway. Down that stretch of road they would find big box stores and chain restaurants. It was a mechanical city, filled with opportunities to sit and grow fatter. Meanwhile, the people parked their cars into a conspiratorial grid. All those machines, side to side and nose to nose couldn’t help but join their minds together and then plot and plan.
 

April stopped and stared at the girl across the street. It was that helpful girl—the “who instead of that” girl. April didn’t know what the idea meant, but she knew it pertained. She couldn’t remember the name, but she recognized her blond hair even though it was plastered to her head and darkened with rain. She raised her hand to wave to the girl but stopped and slowly let her hand drop. The girl was pushing her bicycle. That wasn’t the problem—a bicycle was a dumb machine, nothing to worry about. The problem was the cold fire in the girl’s eyes. She was lit from within with robot intelligence. They had gotten to her. They had taken over her slim body. There was no fat on her frame to fuel their malevolence, so they had infected her instead.
 

April shrunk back from the road and hoped the girl wouldn’t see her.

She didn’t.
 

The girl mounted her bike and stood on the pedals to get it going. She rode south. April turned north, glancing over her shoulder every few seconds to make sure that the girl didn’t turn around and come back for her.

[ Golf ]

J
ULY
3

T
RINA
HADN
’
T
wasted any time. It was like she thought that the offer would be rescinded if she didn’t take them up on it right away. Gerard sat on what they called a “day bed.” It was an extra-deep couch with a mattress instead of cushions. His feet didn’t touch the floor when he sat on it. He felt like a little kid.

The woman of the house—Wendy, if he remembered correctly—walked by the open door and glanced at him. She almost paused. She wasn’t the type of hostess who would ask if he wanted anything. He was expected to fend for himself, he supposed.

Gerard pushed up from the day bed and moved towards the door.
 

Trina appeared like magic, filling the doorway.

She kept her voice low, as if she thought that everyone would be trying to overhear. “Please stay out of everyone’s way for the next couple of days,” she said. “I want them to feel comfortable leaving us here.”

Gerard nodded and smiled. He could have told her what she already knew—these were the type of parents who just
expected
that everything was going to go their way. It always had—why would their luck turn bad now? But Trina was the one looking for assurance. He would give it to her. She could make his life difficult if she wanted. There was no reason to rock the boat.

“I thought I’d go out for a walk, now that the rain has stopped,” he said.

Trina searched his eyes and then finally turned to the side. He smiled again and moved past her. He felt her body heat as they nearly touched. Part of her called to him, but he did his best to ignore the signals. There would be a better time for all that, he was sure.

Gerard glanced around and chose to go out through the front door. He didn’t want to arouse any suspicion.

Outside, he was free. The sky was beginning to clear and the rain left the world sparkling under glass droplets. It was beautiful. This was the kind of day where the rain would be steaming off the streets in an hour or two. Worms would be wriggling on the pavement, suddenly stranded by the receding water. The aroma coming off the lake was intoxicating. It smelled of potent life, ready to burst forth. Summer was blooming all around him. The world was full of potential.

He didn’t turn left to walk towards the town. He wanted to walk under the canopy of trees and see the branches shake off the last of the rain. He went south, up the hill. His legs warmed to the effort and he picked up speed and breathed deep lungfuls of the cool air.

Gerard slowed. There was only the smallest sign that designated the overflow parking area for the golf course. It was a tiny sign and a dirt lot, but there were some pretty nice cars parked in there. They were the kind of cars where people might leave valuables. Out in the middle of nowhere, people got sloppy with security. They were so used to being on guard where they came from that they liked to relax when they were on vacation.

Gerard checked for cars and then trotted across the road. The main drag was busy with summer traffic, but there was nobody to bother him on this road. He just had to be careful about golfers. There was no telling when one of them was going to come back.

He approached a big, puffy car and ran his hand up the side. It was going to be locked. He was pretty sure. When he tugged on the door handle, he braced himself for an alarm. If it sounded, he would just walk away as fast as possible and hope to get out of sight before…

It was open.

Gerard smiled and climbed in. He started with the center console and then moved to the glove compartment. He found the change dispenser and emptied it. He found a cigar in a glass tube and a lighter—those went in his pocket. The big score was under the visor. Tucked into the vanity mirror, he found fifteen one-dollar bills. Gerard put those in his pocket, glanced at the rear seat, and then popped the trunk before he got out.

He found four little compartments in the trunk and felt compelled to check them all. He sprang up at the sound of tires rolling on the gravel. The car had crept up silently. Gerard turned. It was one of those silent hybrid cars. He rolled his eyes. Gerard closed the trunk and turned away.

“There’s only one left,” a voice said. The guy was already out of his car and was pulling his clubs from the rear hatch of his sneaky little car.

“Pardon?”

“Want to split the cart?”

“Oh,” Gerard said. He glanced at the golf cart. “Sure.”

He walked alongside the man over to the golf cart and took the passenger’s seat.

“I’m Gil Evans,” the guy said. He put his hand out. “How about you drive?”

“Okay,” Gerard said. He shook the guy’s hand. “I’m Jack.” Gerard slid over and looked at the wheel. There was no key in sight. It had been a long time since Gerard had driven anything. A golf cart seemed like an ideal reintroduction to the art, but he didn’t see a way to start it. Next to him, Gil was snipping the end from a cigar. Soon he had it in his mouth and was spinning the wheel on a lighter. There was spark, but no flame. Gerard took the stolen lighter from his own pocket and gave Gil a light.

“Thanks,” Gil said. “Let’s hit the road.”

“I’m afraid I’ve never driven one like this,” Gerard said.

“Just hit the gas,” Gil said with a smile and a puff. Gerard had been thinking about lighting his own cigar, but when he smelled Gil’s, he changed his mind. Up close, the smell was overpowering. Taking Gil’s advice, he stepped on the gas. The cart responded immediately. They jerked forward and Gerard spun the wheel wildly to keep them on the path.

Gil laughed. Attached by a black strap, his golf bag flopped back and forth behind them. The clubs rattled.

“I hope you can get your clubs,” Gil said. He looked down at Gerard’s feet. “And your shoes.”

“Pardon?” Gerard asked. When they came to a branch, he steered left. It was the direction that all the dirty tire tracks led.

“I heard the clubhouse is still closed,” Gil said. “Storm the other night. This has been one hell of a summer for storms.”

“Yeah,” Gerard said.

“Take a right up here,” Gil said.

Gerard steered in the direction that the man pointed. They got to a wide part of the path and Gil asked him to stop.

“This is me,” Gil said. “Good luck with your clubs. I’ll see you out there.”

Gerard spun in his seat as he watched Gil wrestle his clubs from the cart. The whole time, Gil had the cigar hanging from his mouth. The smoke was making Gil blink furiously. He gave Gerard a wave as he headed up over a grassy hill. Gerard had no idea where the man was going. He cranked the wheel and tried to spin the cart around. He didn’t quite make it. Gerard was starting to get nervous that he would be caught out there. He jumped out of the seat and dragged the front end of the cart until it faced the right direction. Gerard got back in and sped away.

[ Machine ]

Gerard looked up at the sky as he guided the cart over the rolling hills. It was starting to look like a nice day, but everything was still wet. He wondered how Gil’s game would go on soaked grass. When he looked back down, he jerked the wheel to the side and slammed on the brakes. The cart skidded off the paved path and finally came to a stop in the grass.

This was why he wasn’t allowed to drive. His mind wandered and he stopped paying attention. There was a metal cylinder in the middle of the cart path. It looked like the trash can that stood outside the bank. The top was capped with a metal dome, but Gerard didn’t see the door where one could insert a food wrapper or a soda can. The dome was solid.

Gerard approached it. It would be easier to move the trash can than to slog the cart through the grass. It looked shaggy and soaked here. He got a static shock from the metal and jerked his hand back. He smiled at his own jumpiness until he puzzled the situation through. The day was humid, and he was outdoors. It wasn’t like he had just shuffled across a carpet in winter and then touched a doorknob. That wasn’t static electricity he had felt. It had to be
actual
electricity. Someone had rigged the can to shock. Maybe it was a prank.

Gerard glanced around. The path moved through a valley between grass-covered mounds. He couldn’t even see any of the real golf course, let alone golfers. If someone was hiding, laughing about his reaction, then he was going to give them a show.