Short Story
Somewhere in the future, the time is midnight where the natural glow from the sky has been replaced by dozens of man-made luminescence.
With her hands shoved into the pockets of her coat, Basil keeps a steady pace down the near empty city walk until she steps on a sheet of paper. She leans over to read the headline Mandatory Chip Installment Deadline Approaching Faster than Expected.
Just as she’s about to pick the flyer up, Basil is grabbed by both of her arms and shoved into a dim alley. The sound of maniac laughter rattles her body, but she forces emerging fear out of her subconscious. These are only humans after all. They don’t know any better.
Two gentlemen, one holds her in place and twist her arms behind her back while the other reaches out to grope one of her breast. She doesn’t wince or flinch.
“What’s a doll like you doing out in these streets?” The groper questions.
Basil doesn’t respond, but she can tell by the lowering of his brows that her lack of words either angers him due to a cooled down a twisted sense of excitement from fear mongering.
The fondler snarls and pulls out a gun from behind his back. Within the swift motion, Basil caught sight into a quick flicker of light against his left temple. Light from a storefront sigh bounced off a microchip fastened against his head.
“I’m not into quiet girls.” The groper whispers. “Maybe this will make you talk.”
He moves the gun under her chin and presses the barrel against her jaw. Basil keeps her eyes directly on him. He looks deeply into them and is startled at the sight of her pupils expanding wider and wider until they cover every inch of her eyeball. He yanks away the gun, raises his free hand up to his forehead, and releases a pained bellow.
“Hey! What’s wrong with you man?” The cohort asks. The groper continues to scream and with the butt of the gun, beats the side of his head. When he stops, his body shifts from tense to relaxed. “H-hey.”
The groper turns to his cohort who’s still holding Basil. There’s a sense of emptiness that coats his face. He raises the gun and pulls the trigger. Basil moves her head slightly to the right and hears the bullet emerge with a gushing sound of exploding brain matter. She closes her eyes when she feels the grips around her arm loosen.
Finally reaching her apartment, Basil removes her jacket and sits down on the living room sofa. She draws her legs up and rest her chin on her knees. Dawn, her roommate comes out from her bedroom smoking a cigarette.
“How was the walk?”
Basil could still hear her groper screaming in terror at what she did. But it was merely for her own safety.
“Alright. You’re not planning on getting that chip, are you?” She questions.
“Well…” Dawn sits beside her and exhales a plume of smoke. “It is mandatory.”
“You’re not afraid it’s a ruse to take control of your mind?”
Her roommate burst into laughter. “I doubt something like that will happen.”
Basil lowers her eyes. “But it is possible.” She mumbles.
if you know the name of the artist for my cover design, please message me on Instagram @iamangiesim. I would love to give them credit for their beautiful work
