Jackie's Boy

Steven Popkes

Description

Plagues broke the world.In a violent new America infested with disease and mutated creatures, Michael, an eleven-year old orphan, and Jacki, a sophisticated, intelligent, articulate elephant, set out on a journey of discovery and survival through the post-apocalyptic ruins.It means facing out of control agribots, bioengineered lily pads, crocodiles, and bad men with guns.Michael can hardly wait.

Sujets

• Science-fiction
• Science fiction

Informations

• Publié par: Book View Cafe
• Date de parution: 15 décembre 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781611389494
• Langue: English

Extrait

JACKIE'S BOY
Steven Popkes
www.bookviewcafe.com
Book View Café/Walking Rocks Edition December 15, 2020 ISBN: 978-1-61138-949-4 Copyright © 2020 Steven Popkes
Table of Contents
Title Page
Also by Steven Popkes
Part 1: While the nearer waters roll
Chapter 1.1
Chapter 1.2
Chapter 1.3
Chapter 1.4
Chapter 1.5
Chapter 1.6
Chapter 1.7
Chapter 1.8
Chapter 1.9
Chapter 1.10
Chapter 1.11
Chapter 1.12
Chapter 1.13
Part 2: He amid the flood
Chapter 2.1
Chapter 2.2
Chapter 2.3
Chapter 2.4
Chapter 2.5
Chapter 2.6
Chapter 2.7
Chapter 2.8
Chapter 2.9
Chapter 2.10
Part 3: Gather at the river
Chapter 3.1
Chapter 3.2
Chapter 3.3
Chapter 3.4
Chapter 3.5
Chapter 3.6
Chapter 3.7
Chapter 3.8
Epilogue
Acknowledgements
Copyright & Credits
About the Author
About Book View Café
Also by Steven Popkes
Caliban Landing
Slow Lightning
Welcome to Witchlandia
Simple Things
The Long Frame
God's Country
 
 
 
 
To Wendy and Ben, of course. But to Earl and Opal, too.
Part 1: While the nearer waters roll
Chapter 1.1
Saint Louis, April 4
Dear Mom,
Unkle Ned didn’t make it. The Long Botom Boyz got him. Theyalmost got me too. But he sent me out the back way. For minit it looked he miteget throo the fire fite but the Boyz tossed in a grenade. Nuthing but corpsfungus food after that.
I got away when the Boyz went inside.
I no you didn’t like him much. But now Im on my own. Imthinking the zoo. Its not much of a chans but it is sumthing.
I will rite again if I get in.
Love,
Michael Ripley, Age Eleven
o0o
The Long Bottom Boys had taken over the gate of the SaintLouis Zoo from Nature Phil’s gang. London Bob had killed, and eaten, NaturePhil in single combat. That pretty much constituted possession. The Zoo Keepersdidn’t mind what anybody did as long as they kept it off the grounds. So, theBoys waited outside to harvest anyone who came out or went in. All they had todo was wait. There weren’t many people left in Saint Louis, but eventually somebodywas always drawn to the sight of all that meat on the hoof, nothing protectingit from consumption save a hundred feet of empty air and invisible, lethal,automated weaponry. People went in just to look at it and drool.
Michael knew the Boys’ plans. He and Ned had always worked aroundthem. Michael had been watching them furtively on his own for a week: hiding inplaces no adult could go, leaving no traces they could see. The Boys had caughta woman a few days ago and a man last night. They were still passing the womanaround. What was left of the man was turning on the spit over on Grand,thoroughly purified by the mutterings of the Boys’ own priest.
Michael sniffed the air. A rank odor mixed with a smell likemaple syrup. Corpse fungus at the fruiting stage. Somewhere nearby there was acollection of mushrooms that yesterday had been the body of a human being.Michael wondered if it was someone who had spoiled before the Boys had got tothem or if it was the last inedible remnants of the man on the spit. By morningthere would be little more than a thin mound of soil to show where the meat andbone had been.
The gates of the Zoo unlocked with the winter dawn. The Boyguarding this gate remained asleep. Michael held his backpack tightly to hischest so he made no sound. The man started in his sleep. Michael picked up aloose brick from the road as a contingency plan.
Michael stepped silently past the guard. Ned would have toldhim to use a knife, but he’d have to be right on target with a knife to killthe guard. Through the eye or the throat. Even then, it might take the guard oneloud moment to die. Better to hit him hard as he could with the brick. It mightor might not kill him, but Michael was pretty sure it would leave the guard unconscious.Then, Michael could kill him off quickly. Just hurting him or knocking him outwouldn’t be enough. The Boys might figure out what happened from a corpse, butthey’d know after talking with a witness. So far Michael had been lucky:the Boys didn’t know about him. They thought Ned had worked alone.
Michael was alone now.
It didn’t matter. The best thing to do was to creeppast the guard and get into the zoo without the guard ever knowing.
The guard turned in his sleep.
Michael stopped. He watched the guard carefully. Wondered ifthis guard had been part of the firefight that killed Ned. Michael held thebrick high as he passed. But the guard didn’t move and then Michael was pasthim. Just as well. The only thing that got the Boys more riled than meat wasrevenge.
He stayed out of sight even past the gate. If the Boys knewhe was here, they’d be ready at closing time when the Keepers pushed everyoneoutside. Michael had never been in the Zoo, but he was hoping a kid could findplaces to hide where an adult wouldn’t fit. Inside the Zoo was safe; outsidethe Zoo wasn’t. It was as simple as that.
Now, he was crouching in the bushes outside a paddock in thevisitor’s viewing area looking for a place to hide.
She came outside, her great rounded ears and heavy circular feet,her wise eyes and long trunk. As she came down to the water, Michael held hisbreath and made himself as small as an eleven-year-old boy could be. Maybe shewouldn’t see him.
It was an elephant. Michael had never seen one except in booksread to him by his mother, dead and distant in his memory. Now an elephant was right there in front of him. Huge. Magnificent. She glowed in the dimlight.
Michael fell in love the moment he saw her.
o0o
Michael saw no one else but it was still early. The elephantwas one of the last of the large animals. Her barn and paddock had to be theworst place to hide. He’d be found immediately. Everyone had probably triedthis. Even so, when the elephant wandered out of sight down the hill, Michaelsprang over the fence and ran silently to the barn, his backpack bouncing andthrowing him off balance. Each moment he expected bullets to turn him intomush.
Inside, he quickly looked around and saw a loft filled withbales of hay hanging above the concrete floor. He climbed up the ladder andburrowed down. The hay poked through his shirt and pants and tickled his feetthrough the hole in his shoe. Carefully, through the backpack, he felt for hisnotebook. It was safe.
“I see you,” came a woman’s voice from below.
Michael froze. He held his pack tight.
Something slapped the hay bale beside him and pulled itdown. The ceiling light shone down on him. He looked down.
It was the elephant.
“You’re not going to hide up there,” she said.
Michael leaned over the edge. “Did you talk?”
“Get out of my stall.” She whipped her trunk up and grabbedhim by the leg, dragging him off the edge.
“Hold it, Jackie.” A voice from the wall—a man’s voice, softbut firm.
Jackie held him over the ground. “You’re slipping, Ralph. Ishould have found his corpse outside hanging on the fence.” She brought the boyto her eyes and Michael knew she was thinking of smashing him to jelly on theconcrete then and there.
“Don’t,” he whispered.
“We all make mistakes,” said the wall.
“Should I toss him out or squish him? This is your job. Not mine.”
“Let him down. Perhaps, he’ll be of use.”
The moment stretched out. Michael stared at her. So scaredhe couldn’t breathe. So excited the elephant was right there, up close and infront of him, he couldn’t look away.
Slowly, reluctantly, she let him down. “Whatever.”
A Zoo Keeper came into the room from outside. Seven feet tall.Three metal arms with mounted cameras, each with their own gun barrel. Thecameras followed both Jackie and Michael.
“Follow me.” This time the voice came from the robot.
Michael stared at Jackie for a moment. She snorted contemptuouslyand turned to go back outside.
Michael slowly followed the Keeper, watching Jackie leave. “Elephantstalk?”
“That one does,” said the Keeper.
“Wow,” he breathed.
o0o
‘‘Open your backpack,” the Keeper ordered.
Michael stared into the camera/gun barrel. He guessed it wastoo late to run. He opened the backpack and emptied it on the floor.
The Keeper separated the contents with one appendage whileit kept the gun and camera pointed at him. ‘‘A loaf of bread. Two cans of tuna.A notebook. Several pens.” The lens on the camera staring to him whirred andelongated towards him. “Yours? You read and write?”
“Yes.”
“Take back your things. You may call me Ralph, as she does,”said the Keeper as it turned and led him into an office.
“Why aren’t I dead?”
“I try not to slaughter children if I can help it. I havesome limited leeway in interpreting my authority.” The voice paused for amoment. “In the absence of a director, I’m in charge of the Zoo.”
Michael nodded. He stared around the room. He was still inshock at seeing a real, live elephant. The talking seemed kind of extra.
The Keeper remained outside the office and the voice resumedspeaking from the ceiling.
“Please sit down.”
Michael sat down. “How come you still have lights? The onlyplaces still lit up are the Zoo and the Cathedral.”
“I’m still able to negotiate with Union Electric. Notmany places can guarantee fire safety.”
Michael had no clue what the voice was talking about. “It’swarm,” he said tentatively.
“With light comes heat. Now, what is your name?”
“Michael. Michael Ripley.”
“How old are you?”
Michael looked around the room. “Eleven, I think.”
“You’re not sure?”
Michael shook his head. “I’m pretty sure I was six when myparents died. Uncle Ned took me in. I stayed with him for the last five years.The Long Bottom Boys killed him a week ago.”
“You have no surviving relatives?”
Michael shrugged and didn’t answer.
“Where do you live?”
He looked around the ceiling warily, then back to the Keeper.“I just hang around the park.”
“You have no place to stay?”
“No.”
“Would you like to stay here?”
Michael looked around the room again. It was warm. There wasclearly plenty to eat. None of the gangs were ever allowed inside. But wheredid they get the food for the animals? How c