Love Minus Eighty by Will McIntosh Read Free Book Online Page B

face Winter, and he would tell her. The certainty of that was all that allowed him to keep walking.

8
Mira
    “Hi.” It came out phlegmy; the man cleared his throat. “I’ve never done this before.” He was a black man, maybe forty, tall and beefy. His eyes were soft and kind, jittery and shy, and he had an honest smile, though the smile couldn’t mask a melancholy he all but radiated.
    “What’s the date?” Mira asked, still groggy.
    “January third, twenty-one thirty-three,” the man said. Nearly thirty years had passed since Alex had waked her. She had no idea how long ago her brief encounter with the old man had been. Unless that had been part of her dream. No—there would have been no dream unless someone had waked her.
    The man wiped his mouth with the back of his wrist. “I feel like I’m doing something wrong, being here.” He frowned. “Is it okay, for me to be visiting you? There’s no way to ask ahead of time.”
    “I’m happy to have the company.”
    The man gave her a big, sloppy smile. “I’m Lycan, by the way.”
    “I’m Mira. Nice to meet you.”
    “I can tell you’re an honest person, from your eyes.” Lycan had abysmal posture; Mira wondered how he could breathe sitting so slumped.
    “I like to think I am,” Mira said.
    “You’re the oldest woman in here, did you know that?” He shook his head. “I mean, not the oldest, since you’re only twenty-six, but the oldest based on your birth date. That’s why I chose you.”
    “I see.” So she really was an antique. It made her feel terribly alone, and forgotten.
    “You know, you wouldn’t know it from what’s coming out of my mouth, because I’m so nervous, but I’m actually very smart. I’m probably the smartest person you’ve ever met.” Lycan fell silent for a moment. “I’m talking too much. I’m sorry.”
    “No, I like it,” Mira said. It allowed her precious time to think. When she was alive, there had been times in Mira’s life when she had little free time, but she had always had time to think. She could think while commuting to work, while standing in lines, during all of the other in-between times. Suddenly it was the most precious thing.
    Lycan wiped his palms. “First dates are not my best moments.”
    “You’re doing great.” Mira smiled as best she could, although she knew it must look forced. She had to get out of here, had to convince one of these men to revive her. One of these men? This was only the third person to revive her in the past thirty years, and if the first guy, the pervert, was to be believed, she’d become less desirable the longer she was here.
    Mira wished she could see where she was. Was she in a coffin?On a bed? She wished she could move her neck. “What’s it like in here?” she asked. “Are we in a room?”
    “You want to see? Here.” Lycan held his palm a foot over her face; silver netting covered his hand, flashing words and images. It transformed into a mirror.
    Mira recoiled. Her own dead face looked down at her, her skin gray, her lips bordering on blue. Her face was flaccid—she looked slightly unbalanced, or mentally retarded, rather than peaceful. A glittering silver mesh concealed her to the neck.
    Lycan angled the mirror, giving her a view of the room. It was a vast hall. A lift was descending through the center. People hurried across beautiful bridges as crystal-blue water traced twisting paths through huge transparent tubes suspended in the open space, giving the impression of flying streams. Nearby, Mira saw a man sitting beside an open drawer, his mouth moving, head nodding, hands set a little self-consciously in his lap.
    Lycan took the mirror away. His eyes had grown big and round.
    “What is it?” Mira asked.
    He opened his mouth to speak, then changed his mind, shook his head. “Nothing.”
    “Please, tell me.”
    There was a long pause. Finally, Lycan answered. “I’m sorry, the last thing I want to do is make you feel bad. It’s just that