RUNNER

A silver-haired desert fox scampered back to its lair as the naked runner passed by. With her long fair hair bouncing against her sunburnt back she kept up a steady jog across the hard-packed sand. The golden flaming orb could just be glimpsed through gaps in the distant range of hills, which forced the runner to increase her stride. In an hour the sun would have taken away the cold air, and replaced it by skin-blistering heat.
‘The canal,’ murmured the runner, through dry, parched lips. ‘Must make the canal soon!’

She had been running and jogging for two days without either food or water. She was fortunate in not needing that form of sustenance as often as most people, but nevertheless, she would soon start to dehydrate, and inevitably slow down and collapse. The sun was now above the hills, and the runner threw a long slim shadow across the rippling dunes that spread out in every direction.

An artificial ridge appeared on the horizon, and within minutes the runner had reached it, and scrambled to the top. Below her, a narrow ribbon of water ran from north to south. She bounced down the sand-filled side of the canal and like a little child trying out a paddling pool for the first time, gave a yell, and jumped into the cool water. The rippling liquid was flowing towards the south, and so rolling onto her back she let the current take her away.

By midday the canal had split into two with one narrow waterway turning toward the west. She took the westerly direction and was pleased that the flow had increased until it was as fast as her earlier jogging. The canal led towards a line of rocky outcrops that marked the boundary of the desert. At the last moment she saw the water was dropping away underground, but was saved from any harm by grasping an ancient metal grid that had been placed over the entrance.

The runner pulled clear of the water, and laughing out aloud lay on her back at the base of the rocks.
‘Why do you laugh?’ Said a male voice.
The runner turned over, poised to run yet again, or defend herself against this unknown man. ‘Who are you? What do you want?’ She yelled, pretending to appear afraid, even though she was certain she could handle a single opponent. She glanced at his clothing, which comprised a black, heavy woven cloak wrapped around his body. The cloak reached to the ground and hid his feet and legs from view. This seemed incongruous to dress in such a fashion on a hot sunny day, although it did suggest he might belong to some obscure desert tribe or sect.
‘Two questions!’ Said the man. ‘You must answer mine first!’

The runner stood up, attempting to cover her nakedness as best she could. ‘It amused me to realise how fortunate I was to travel so far and so safely by water, and then to be nearly plunged underground to certain death by the same transporter.’
‘That seems satisfactory,’ said the man. ‘Does death bother you?’
She shook her head.
‘Most people would disagree with you,’ said the cloaked stranger.
‘Now, answer my questions,’ said the runner.
‘My name is G,’ answered the man, ‘and I will escort you away from here, and then we will talk further.’
‘Just G?’
‘Yes,’ said G. ‘Now, follow closely. There is a cleft in the rocks that leads to a pathway. At the top you will see my residence.’

The runner followed, but at far enough distance to flee back to the desert if she needed to. From the top of the cliffs she could see the ocean stretching away to the horizon, but before she would be able to reach the ocean two gigantic metal fences barred her way. A massive spiked-top gateway, even more formidable than the fences, was the only method of traversing these pair of obstacles.
‘Come,’ said G. ‘Do you see that low building beyond the gateway?’

The runner nodded. ‘What’s the silver object the other side of the building?’ She said, peering through the heat haze.
‘That is a deep-space shuttle,’ said G, turning to face the woman. ‘Why do you ask?’
‘That’s my business, and stop staring at me. It’s not my fault I don’t have any clothing. Why can’t you lend me your cloak?’
G ignored her questioning, and moved off along the ridge until he reached a stairway cut into the rock. The woman followed him down to the imposing gateway. The gates ground back on well-oiled runners that were coated with the ever-shifting sand. Viewed close up the low building showed signs of being a great age, with an external surface material eroded by the relentless stinging, wind-blown sand.

The interior of the building was almost empty, except for a handful of chairs, a table, a bench seat, and an archaic looking screen that might have once been a computer terminal. At the far end was an open doorway leading toward the shuttle.
‘Sit,’ said G, pointing to the bench seat.
‘I want some clothes,’ said the runner. ‘If I’m to be interrogated by you I will not be further humiliated by being forced to sit or stand naked!’
‘You may stand if you wish,’ said G, ignoring her request.
‘Just let me leave on that shuttle,’ said the runner, ‘and then I’ll be no more trouble to you.’
‘You cannot leave,’ said G, showing no emotion, ‘you are a prisoner; an escaped prisoner. You are what the guards term a “Runner”.’
‘I served seven years,’ said the woman, brushing away a tear from the corner of one eye. ‘You can’t send me back.’
‘I’m not sending you back.’
‘Thank you.’
‘I’m letting you travel the way you came. There is no suitable transport here to return you to the desert complex.’
‘You evil creature,’ said the runner collapsing onto the bench.
‘Me, evil?’ Said G. ‘I think not. You are the being known as Tina Aurora. Three days ago you killed two guards and injured several more in your escape.’
‘It wasn’t deliberate!’ Sobbed Tina Aurora. ‘They got in the way. Seven years of my poor short life I spent incarcerated in that awful place. I’m only young, it isn’t fair.’
‘Fair!’ said G. ‘It was justice.’
‘Only your sort of twisted justice. Your kind have always hated my kind.’
‘And what is your kind?’ said G, moving over to the screen.
It was Tina Aurora’s turn to ignore the question. She bit her lip, and began crying. Tears rolled down dusty cheeks, and dropped onto the stone paved floor. ‘Seven years in solitary confinement, in a tiny barred cell, without a companion of any sort. Can you imagine what it’s like?’
‘Your self-pity can have no effect on me, nor your body, even though I believe it normally captivates men to love and protect you. The cell, I know, has three rooms, and a private courtyard where you can exercise whenever you wish.’
‘It might well have been a tiny cell,’ said Tina, sniffling and trying to wipe away the tears, ‘and last year they took away my clothes, all because I smuggled some pieces of metal into my quarters that I found buried in the exercise yard.’
‘Anything you say or do will not stop me from sending you back, because,’ said G, removing his cloak, ‘I too am not what I seem to be.’
Tina opened her bloodshot eyes and viewed the shining silver body topped by a man’s head. Flesh-like hands and arms were attached to this metallic torso, and the strange being hovered just above the ground on invisible electro-magnetic waves.
‘Android!’ Cried Tina. ‘You’re just a damn android.’
‘I am G the Guardian of the Gate. Only the most violent, the most evil, the most unrepentant of humanoid criminals are sent here. None are ever freed. A few, such as yourself have escaped the complex, but they have never reached that open door.’
‘I suppose the shuttle doesn’t work,’ said Tina, standing, and no longer bothering to protect her modesty. In Tina’s mind androids had no true feelings, and were just machines to help or hinder her progress through life.
‘You are wrong,’ said G, moving slowly towards her. ‘I keep it ready for lift-off at just one moments notice. There maybe a time it is required, and the warden wants it to be ready… always.’
‘Please let me go,’ said Tina, tears once again rolling down her cheeks. ‘You can’t realise how terrible that place is for a human being.’
‘I believe human beings would find it intolerable, but then again, you are not truly human.’
‘Neither are you,’ said Tina, making a great show of wiping away her tears.
‘We are not here to discuss me,’ said G, moving even closer. ‘It is you that are the criminal, the destroyer of beings across the galaxy.’
Tina sank to the floor crying. ‘Please take pity on me; I can’t help what I am. Don’t send me back. I’ll work for you, help you, do anything, but please don’t send me back to prison!’
‘There can be nothing for you here,’ said G, ‘I am an android. I do not eat or drink; therefore there is no food available. I do not sleep, therefore no beds. I do not suffer from heat or cold, therefore no air-conditioning, or heating when night falls.’
Tina continued weeping, and curled her legs up to her chin. ‘Then I must die!’
‘You will die, if you stay here. You must return to the complex.’ G moved back from Tina and sprayed the room with lasers. Areas of the wall and ceiling glowed red, and smouldered. ‘I am programmed to destroy any being that remains here more than one standard hour. That was a warning, therefore go, and go quickly.’
‘You’re cruel,’ said Tina, standing once more. ‘I’ll starve crossing that desert.’
‘You’ll be hungry, but not starve,’ said G, ‘for I know your type of creature.’
‘What did I do to hurt you?’ Said Tina, sniffling, and wiping her eyes. ‘I’m just a girl, why, I’m barely twenty-six years old!’
‘My records show you look like a human of that age, but my archives show you are well over two hundred years, and are wanted on a dozen star-systems. You have thousands of victims on numerous planets.’
‘It’s not my fault,’ cried Tina, sinking down once more onto the rocky floor, ‘I have a hunger that can never be satiated. I’ve been hungry for seven years. Please don’t send me back!’
G, hovering barely a hands width above the floor, moved over to the open doorway. ‘Your new guard…’
‘Elric?’
‘Yes,’ replied G. ‘He was your friend. The warden thought after so many years in captivity a man of similar appearance and sympathetic to you would be good company. Someone to talk to and help pass your waking hours. A grave mistake when dealing with you.’
‘He was nice,’ said Tina, ‘and kind. He loved me in his own way. He averted his eyes when he talked to me because he knew how embarrassed I was without the comfort of clothing.’
‘And he helped you escape, which resulted in the death and injury to others.’
‘He loved me, and would do anything for me,’ said Tina, brushing the sand from her long hair. ‘Is he dead?’
‘You should know the answer to that! Now! Go Tina Aurora, or I will destroy you.’
‘Android,’ thought Tina, clenching her fists. ‘I know all about Androids.’ Her four years stranded with the Aurora transport ship had taught her much about the thinking and mechanics of these human like robots. ‘G,’ she said rising up like Venus and gliding slowly and seductively over to the Guardian. ‘I’ll go now, as I don’t really want to be lasered out of existence.’
‘Very wise,’ said G, watching her every movement.
‘Before I go,’ said Tina, ‘it is a custom of my people to kiss those who have been kind and civil to them.’
‘It is not on my records!’
‘Perhaps not, but it is true nonetheless. May I kiss you on the cheek, and neck?’
‘If you wish, but be aware that your teeth will not penetrate my indestructible skin. I do not have blood or veins for you to nourish yourself, so you cannot relieve your hunger.’
‘I wouldn’t dare to attack you like that,’ said Tina, in all humility. ‘Now, let me kiss you, and then I’ll be away.’
G was of similar height to Tina, so she was able to lean against him and kiss him gently of the left cheek. She then changed position to kiss him on the right. Caressing his artificial hair with both hands she kissed G lightly on the lips. Her hands touched the emergency shut down device located at the back of his neck. Squeezing tightly she forced the hidden device inward. The hovering stopped and Tina had to jump aside as G keeled over and crashed to the ground.
‘Android!’ She cried, before grabbing the cloak and dashing through the doorway.

The shuttle drifted away from the gate, hovered for a few seconds, and shot away like an arrow from a bow. In orbit above the desert prison planet with its single ocean glowing like a giant blue eye, Tina programmed the shuttle’s hyperspace jump, and then lay on the padded acceleration couch. The shuttle was stocked with supplies, and had a power unit that would last a century. During that time Tina could visit many worlds, and know she had a quick and reliable method to leave when she was discovered.

One being she really missed was the empathic companion android she called Claire. It was nearly four decades since she had left Claire with the freighter Aurora, and Tina wondered if Claire was still organising the other androids and worker robots, and making sure everything was clean and in working order for the day when Tina returned… if Tina ever returned.

Tina’s only regret was not having Elric with her. He had been so kind and helpful in aiding her escape, even attacking his fellow guards to defend her, because Tina’s strength had been limited due to her ever present hunger. Elric had even offered her his clothing, but Tina already knew that all prison clothing had embedded tracers, which would be detected by the prison security system. When they attained the comparative safety of the desert she needed extra sustenance to reach the canal system.

‘Poor Elric,’ she sighed, running her tongue across her pointed canine teeth, ‘I do miss you… you were so generous, even until the end.’

Tina Aurora, the most notorious Vampire in the galaxy, closed her eyes and dreamed of her next planet fall.