Tuesday, August 5th, 2076
Al would have written the silly girl off for good, but she was a female, so allowances had to be made. Besides, there was Alyce to think of.
"Don't thank me - din't do nothin' I warn't inclined to. An' though I's said as much more'n once, people either ain't listenin' or think I'm a liar. Now, I don't know what that girl told you, but accordin' ta this little missive, she din't want ta go, but she's gotta go in order ta save us. Apparently the child thinks she knows..." His voice trailed off when he realized he was preaching to the choir. Alyce didn't say so, but he knew she wanted to girl back, and this, at last, was something she wanted that he could do.
He started lacing up his boots.
"I'll call her," Alyce offered.
"Negatory. Jist encourages more damned drama," Al said in a voice that brooked no argument. He'd had enough of this silliness.
He headed for the door. "But she's thirty minutes behind us now, Al. How will you...?"
"Catch ya in the next stop or two."
He went down the hall looking at his comm. It was easy enough to find a spot ahead where the track was fairly close to the highway. His car had been shadowing them since reaching Wales a couple of hours ago - he had it go and wait for him at that spot. Then it was a simple matter of going up to the observation deck - damned nanny state safety freaks had all the regular doors sealed during transit - and waiting for the right spot. It was far from the first train he'd jumped off of, and this tourist number was hardly going faster than the Jumboland Express at the zoo.
He was forty minutes by train from the last station when he got into his Porsche. He made back the distance in seven. On the way, he checked the timetable out of that station. The last train had nonetheless left fourteen minutes ago. On a hunch, however, he parked the car and headed in. He could easily catch the train before it made its next stop if he was wrong.
Of course he was not wrong.
There was Grace. Sitting on a bench. Next to the little girl from the rocks, holding her spray of yellow flowers. Or the big girl from Bristol. However you wanted to slice it.
Grace looked surprised but more relieved to see Al. The girl looked at him with recognition but without alarm.
"Al, thank goodness. This is..."
"Amanda," he said.
"Yes, but..."
"We've met," Amanda joined in helpfully.
"Okay, sweetie. Al, Amanda here has lost her parents, I think they got on the last train without her by accident or something. These damned automated village stations, there's no one here. And then my comm died..."
Of course it did - so Alyce couldn't have called her anyway.
"An' ya jist had to miss yer train ta stay with young Amanda the psychobilly fan here."
The little girl shrugged at Al and winked.
"Yes...well, yes I did. Can you call the local police?"
"Don't reckon that'll be quite necessary. Amanda here, she can take care of herself jist fine."
"What are you going to do with Grace, Al?" the girl asked the man directly.
"Depends on Grace, whether she's still got the brains she was born with."
"Grace," Amanda said, "Leaving Alyce hurt her. And you. And for what? You out of the picture won't help that poor, lovely woman get any closer to this emotionally retarded lout. But you in the picture may help her cope with all the heartache this patriarchy poster-boy will inevitably cause her."
"Hey, now wait jist a goldurned minute..."
But the girl ignored him. "He's a distraction. But he'll tell you one true thing - the best thing you can do for the ones you love is to do what you want for yourself. That will make you happiest, and thus it will make them happiest."
"Shee-it, I was gon' say that. Or, well, somethin' like it."
Grace sat stunned. The more time she spent with these people, the more out of her depth she was. "What...? Who...?"
"I'll check in on you later." And with that the little girl was gone, leaving only the yellow flowers on the bench to mark her passage.
"Al, what....?"
"I'll tell ya what. I'd jist as soon sent ya on yer way, carryin' on like a damned soap opera queen. But then they's Alyce. Now ya wanna take off, I ain't gon' stop ya. If'n that's what you want. But ya take it upon yerself ta try an' guess one more time what other folks want - after they told ya an' fuckin' told ya - I'll have ya over my knee. Now come git inna car."
He turned and walked out. Grace followed. As they crossed the gravel lot, she said, "Damn. Nice car, Al."
"Course."