The Rule of Luck by Catherine Cerveny Read Free Book Online

legs against my chest again, and rested my chin on my knees. The woman lay down and sighed, rubbing a hand over her forehead, then her belly. The plastic mattress cover crinkled under her.
    “My baby died,” she said softly. “Real good boy. Always did what he was told. Giving everybody kisses. So happy and smiling. Knew he’d grow up to be somebody. Just knew it. Then one day…there was an accident. He died. I held him, bleeding all over me…I wanted to die too.” She stopped and I heard a sniff followed by a rattling cough and the ever-present mattress crinkle. “I applied to have another baby, but they wouldn’t let me. Said I’d used my start-up allocation on my boy. Not enough resources left. Not enough calories. Shared Hope’s only one baby for every two people. Wasn’t allowed to have another. Then, they stopped my Renew treatments ’cuz they said I was becoming a problem. Figured I may as well give ’em what they expected.”
    Another sniff and cough. No more words came after that. Nothing but the sound of her muffled cries. Maybe she was playing me, but no one could manufacture that kind of grief—the kind that wore a person right down to the bone until nothing remained.
    “I’m blacklisted,” I said after she’d settled a little. “I’m not allowed to have a baby and I don’t know why. I’ve appealed a dozen times and haven’t gotten anywhere, so I thought I could get around the system, but…guess not.”
    “Then I’m sorry I tried to make you give up a name.”
    “And I’m sorry they tried to use your pain in this way.”
    “You’re the Night Alley card reader, ain’t ya? Bet you didn’t see this coming.” She laughed humorlessly. “My name’s Bahati. Means ‘luck’ in Swahili. Guess I didn’t see it either.”
    I thought of my last card reading and the identical reading I’d gotten for Petriv. I shivered. “I think I did. I just didn’t know it until it was too late.”
    “If we ever get out of here, I’ll get you to tell my fortune. Maybe it’ll help me figure what to do next.”
    “It’ll be on the house,” I agreed lavishly. To be honest, I doubted we’d see each other again, but to say those words and give voice to the implications would be too terrible.
    I crept back to my original cot under hers and we each huddled on our mattresses in the chilly cell. I hated to be so callous, but I didn’t have time to dwell on Bahati’s plight. Her story was sad and I raged at the injustice, but I couldn’t help but circle back to my own problem.
    At some point, I fell back asleep. It was a restless sleep, full of awful dreams I couldn’t remember. I woke up huddled in a fetal position, my arms tucked against my chest for warmth. It took me a moment to realize I was alone. While I slept, Bahati had been removed. I hated to think her story was a lie used to manipulate me, but I’d probably never know.
    I sat up with slow, aching movements. There was no way to know how much time had passed, but I was dizzy, I had to pee again, and my stomach cramped with hunger. Worse, I was so thirsty, my tongue felt swollen in my mouth. I leaned forward and let my legs dangle over the cot’s edge, in no hurry to use that disgusting toilet a second time.
    Then the cell door opened. My eyes burned at the sudden brightness. I flinched and covered my face.
    “You are free to go,” said a heavily accented male voice I didn’t recognize. “The charges have been dropped.”
    I paused, face still covered, thinking. Charges dropped? But I was guilty! I couldn’t imagine any court in the tri-system would find me otherwise and yet…Roy must have pulled off a miracle. It was the only logical explanation. Maybe when he realized I was missing he’d put out feelers and tracked me down. That didn’t quite make sense, but I didn’t care. I just wanted the hell out in case someone realized they’d made a clerical error and changed their mind.
    I slipped from the cot, one hand shielding my eyes