Descending Road - A GOOD EXERCISE RUN by Dana W. Paxson

A GOOD EXERCISE RUN

1563 4D

“Why didn’t you stay out of their sight?” Marra muttered to Aoriver. “Ouch! Ow! My feet are bleeding.” She stopped walking. Darkness crawled gradually up the slopes around the two shivering women.

I thought I did. But I didn’t spot the ones who found me. They looked… different. Aoriver seemed puzzled, almost hesitant. She had never sounded this way before.

“Mine are bleeding too,” Deen said.

“Let’s rest for a minute. How far do we have to go before we find a farm or something?” Marra sat on a boulder and rubbed her calves.

“I don’t think there’s much up here. Maybe over the next saddleback. We could hope for a ride.”

“You might as well hope for a free meal and a night’s rest on a soft bed.” Marra looked around. Where and how would they rest? The road slanted down and curved left out of sight around a cliff. To their right lay a gently-sloping field of scrub that steepened until it dropped from view against a backdrop of distant tree-clad mountain slopes. A few small groves of evergreens dotted the lip of the slope a few hundred strides away. Marra studied them. “How about bedding down in one of those? The leaves are soft, and they make good cover.” She pointed to the clumps of trees. Craning their neck to see in the gathering dusk, the two women took several steps down toward them.

“Someone’s coming,” Deen said. A van, braking on the downward grade by feeding power back into its storage reservoir, overtook the two women.

“Oh, maybe a ride?” Marra looked expectantly as the van stopped opposite them.

“Well.” The hoarse word of command came from the van like a curse. The man who had propositioned them at the inn looked out. “This is a better place. Maybe you’ll regret the way you treated us a little while ago. Right?” He glared out at the two women as they sat transfixed.

Marra stared at him, appalled. “Well?” she muttered to Aoriver.

Can’t touch this one. He’s alive with sentattar. So’s the other one.

“You can’t make an exception?” The van sidled off the roadway, and the two men got out and walked slowly down toward Deen and Marra. The evening shadows grew. One of the men kicked a rock, and it narrowly missed Deen on its way over the lip of the slope.

No exceptions this time. For us, it usually works like the law of gravity does for you: we get hurt if we ignore it.

“Fine time to tell me that.” Marra found Deen‘s hand in hers as they backed uncertainly toward emptiness.

The men stopped. The one with the collechi neck scars said, “Look, we don’t want you to jump or anything. What’s the matter with you, anyway? What are you scared of? I’m not gonna use a gun on you or bust you up or shit like that.”

“Please leave us alone,” Deen said, her voice shaking. “We’re not andros — is that what you think?”

The men started laughing. “Nice try,” said the one with the forehead marks. “I heard you jiving back at the inn. People don’t talk that stuff. Just reps. So come on. Hop in the van.” He beckoned, smiling. “We’ll give you a ride, and vice versa. Fair enough?”

Marra looked past the men. All by itself, their van had begun to move out onto the roadway and continue its course. She squeezed Deen‘s hand, saying to the men, “Maybe you’d better catch your van first, or nobody will ride anything.”

“No tricks, bitch—" the man with neck marks began, but the whine of the van‘s power system reached them. He whirled and stared, his mouth open. “Shit!” Both men turned and scrambled to get up the slope again, launching a broadside of rocks and pebbles that sprayed Marra and Deen. The van gained speed. By the time the men reached road level and turned to chase it, it had nearly vanished around the bend. Curses floated back up to the two women as they climbed back to the road again.

“Now what?” Deen. They looked first down the road, then back the way they had come. In the road about fifty strides away, a corpo fastcar waited. A slight, pale-skinned figure in a coverall stood next to it.

“I can offer you a ride,” the figure said. A man, a male andro. “And you can count on being left alone.”

“Did you…?” Marra pointed down toward the bend in the road.

“I just told it to give them a good exercise run. My name is Jeddin. Yours are?”

Story List	SURPRISE ME	Author Page
USER SURVEY	PUZZLE ME	MAKE ELM MARK

HOVER Lucida Bright BARE	HOVER Lucida Bright FULL	HOVER Palatino Linotype BARE
HOVER Palatino Linotype FULL	HOVER Times New Roman BARE	HOVER Times New Roman FULL
PAD Arial BARE	PAD Arial FULL	PAD Lucida Bright BARE
PAD Lucida Bright FULL	PAD Times New Roman BARE	PAD Times New Roman FULL


	A GOOD EXERCISE RUN 1563 4D “Why didn’t you stay out of their sight?” Marra muttered to Aoriver. “Ouch! Ow! My feet are bleeding.” She stopped walking. Darkness crawled gradually up the slopes around the two shivering women. I thought I did. But I didn’t spot the ones who found me. They looked… different. Aoriver seemed puzzled, almost hesitant. She had never sounded this way before. “Mine are bleeding too,” Deen said. “Let’s rest for a minute. How far do we have to go before we find a farm or something?” Marra sat on a boulder and rubbed her calves. “I don’t think there’s much up here. Maybe over the next saddleback. We could hope for a ride.” “You might as well hope for a free meal and a night’s rest on a soft bed.” Marra looked around. Where and how would they rest? The road slanted down and curved left out of sight around a cliff. To their right lay a gently-sloping field of scrub that steepened until it dropped from view against a backdrop of distant tree-clad mountain slopes. A few small groves of evergreens dotted the lip of the slope a few hundred strides away. Marra studied them. “How about bedding down in one of those? The leaves are soft, and they make good cover.” She pointed to the clumps of trees. Craning their neck to see in the gathering dusk, the two women took several steps down toward them. “Someone’s coming,” Deen said. A van, braking on the downward grade by feeding power back into its storage reservoir, overtook the two women. “Oh, maybe a ride?” Marra looked expectantly as the van stopped opposite them. “Well.” The hoarse word of command came from the van like a curse. The man who had propositioned them at the inn looked out. “This is a better place. Maybe you’ll regret the way you treated us a little while ago. Right?” He glared out at the two women as they sat transfixed. Marra stared at him, appalled. “Well?” she muttered to Aoriver. Can’t touch this one. He’s alive with sentattar. So’s the other one. “You can’t make an exception?” The van sidled off the roadway, and the two men got out and walked slowly down toward Deen and Marra. The evening shadows grew. One of the men kicked a rock, and it narrowly missed Deen on its way over the lip of the slope. No exceptions this time. For us, it usually works like the law of gravity does for you: we get hurt if we ignore it. “Fine time to tell me that.” Marra found Deen‘s hand in hers as they backed uncertainly toward emptiness. The men stopped. The one with the collechi neck scars said, “Look, we don’t want you to jump or anything. What’s the matter with you, anyway? What are you scared of? I’m not gonna use a gun on you or bust you up or shit like that.” “Please leave us alone,” Deen said, her voice shaking. “We’re not andros — is that what you think?” The men started laughing. “Nice try,” said the one with the forehead marks. “I heard you jiving back at the inn. People don’t talk that stuff. Just reps. So come on. Hop in the van.” He beckoned, smiling. “We’ll give you a ride, and vice versa. Fair enough?” Marra looked past the men. All by itself, their van had begun to move out onto the roadway and continue its course. She squeezed Deen‘s hand, saying to the men, “Maybe you’d better catch your van first, or nobody will ride anything.” “No tricks, bitch—" the man with neck marks began, but the whine of the van‘s power system reached them. He whirled and stared, his mouth open. “Shit!” Both men turned and scrambled to get up the slope again, launching a broadside of rocks and pebbles that sprayed Marra and Deen. The van gained speed. By the time the men reached road level and turned to chase it, it had nearly vanished around the bend. Curses floated back up to the two women as they climbed back to the road again. “Now what?” Deen. They looked first down the road, then back the way they had come. In the road about fifty strides away, a corpo fastcar waited. A slight, pale-skinned figure in a coverall stood next to it. “I can offer you a ride,” the figure said. A man, a male andro. “And you can count on being left alone.” “Did you…?” Marra pointed down toward the bend in the road. “I just told it to give them a good exercise run. My name is Jeddin. Yours are?”