“Imagine our surprise when we saw a light on at the barn here. I suggested we take a look. And what do we find? Seven hundred kilos of meat, that’s what. It must be my lucky day.”
Kaarina takes a step back and presses her back against Rocky. The man’s dark eyes drill into Kaarina’s, then wander further down…
“But look, what do we have here…” He slowly steps closer, until he’s so close that Kaarina can smell smoke and firewood and animal blood on him.
She can’t breathe. Can’t move. She closes her eyes, hoping that what’s to come will be over soon.
Rocky snorts again, his front hoof pawing at the gravel.
“Say, Kid. Would you like to trade that gelding for a pair of winter boots?”
“Kick this asshole, Kay. Break his teeth.”
You want me dead? He’ll knock me out if I do.
“Or maybe there’s something else I could take instead of your wild stallion…” Kaarina hears the mountain of a man move closer. Dark shades and dim light spin across her closed eyelids. She’s held her breath for too long. But she’s too scared to move away from the Yeti.
Just as she opens her eyes, she feels his rough hand on hers. Slowly yet demanding, one finger at a time, the man loosens Kaarina’s grip on the paper bag. The scar on her cheek throbs, the pain of her past stopping Kaarina from fighting for what’s rightfully hers. Instead, she simply watches as her treasure is stolen right out of her hand.
The Yeti turns and rummages through the pharmacy bag with his back to her. Eyes wild, she shakes her head in despair. Without the antibiotics she may as well hand Rocky over to be sold on the black market. With no food left, she might as well take a knee and beg the Yeti to take her with him and bring her to the suburbs. Just the thought of living with these animal-killing predators makes her gag.
She takes a sudden step toward the Yeti and his peers.
“Stop right there, Kay-Kay. Don’t be stupid.”
She catches herself right before she answers Bill out loud. You know how badly I need those antibiotics, Bill.
“What I know is that we need you alive. What good will the drugs do, without you here to feed them to that damn horse? I’m telling you, step away from the Yeti. Now.”
She does as she’s told. The Unchipped leader, so close to her still, turns his eyes to her. Kaarina feels her face burn with confusion and anger. Being at his mercy, so weak and powerless… it stings more than her likely fate of soon starving to death. Head spinning, she wonders if it’ll leave a permanent mark on her, some sort of a brand. Though she knows she’s delusional, the thought of being marked as the Unchipped’s property makes her feel vulnerable and small. How is she supposed to fight a dozen of them? Alone, and without a weapon?
The Yeti hands the paper bag to a woman standing nearby. Her shaved head is like an egg, her eyes cold and hard like glass.
“Wonder if this lunatic ever blinks.”
Glass-Eye folds the paper bag into a bundle and tucks it under her arm. A small, mocking smile lingers on her face. Her jaw moves slowly from side to side as she stares Kaarina down.
“You know what, forget about Yeti. I would keep my eyes on this conniving witch instead.”
You’re not helping, Bill.
“It’s been a pleasure doing business with you, Kid. We’ll do you a kindness and leave your horse be,” a hand in a fingerless glove salutes Rocky, “as he’s obviously not currently suitable for consumption. But not to worry, Kid. You’ve proved your worth. Obviously you’re quite useful in many other ways.”
His deep gaze makes her stomach turn. For a terrifying second she’s sure she’ll vomit on the Yeti’s shoes. The double meaning of his words is not lost on Kaarina. Or is it just her fear, reading nonexistent meanings between the lines? She clears her throat but the words fail her again.
“Okay guys, time to roll. Our friend here must be tired after her shoe-dropping adventures in the woods. No need to be rude and overstay our welcome.”
With a low murmur, the Unchipped turn and start back toward the dark woods. The Yeti stands still, sizing her up. Kaarina gasps for air but meets his gaze. A crooked grin deepens on his scarred face.
“You’re practically mute, but you act like you got a pair. I can respect that.”
When she’s sure she’s about to pass out from all the spinning, Kaarina closes her eyes.
A pair of combat boots thump against the ground. He’s finally leaving, following his crowd into the woods.
“Until we meet again, Kid.”
CHAPTER 3 — 2 YEARS EARLIER
“What. The actual. Fuck. Is going on?”
The voice is inside her head but it’s not her own. In her foggy state of mind, she wonders if the hospital has an AI, like the one her mother’s house used to have. What was it called? Mirva? Miranda?
“Who names an AI Miranda?”
Puzzled and dizzy, she tries to ignore the man talking inside her head.
The half-circle room is crowded with beds, each separated from the others by a white hospital curtain. An assortment of surgical instruments covers the wheeled metal cart next to Kaarina’s bed. One of the tools points at her like a weapon. It looks a lot like a drill. A stain of blood decorates her hospital gown.
A deafening, monotonous beeping is the only sound she hears. The nurse rushed out twenty-four minutes and thirty seconds ago. She keeps staring at the clock above the entrance. All she can do is count the minutes and seconds as they go by. Everything else is too foggy and unfocused.
They’re all asleep, everyone but her. In the middle of the beeping. White hospital socks poke
